Chuck wrote:
>
> <SNIP> [part of my posting]
> > So I'm not sure which direction to lean.  While I think that shark dives
> > serve a purpose (as Lee states) I can also see Chuck's point that if you
> > jump in the water at "their spot" they will expect a handout.  That
> > probably isn't very healthy either.  Of course you could argue that you
> > just don't dive there unless you are feeding :-)  Mixing feeding and
> > non-feeding dives would seem to be the problem here.
> >
> Probably true but the site off Nassau that Dive Dive Dive used was actually
> a small coral head in the middle of a sandy area.  Maybe 25 feet across but
> covered in small marine life and in only about 50FSW.  Very interesting site
> to me because of the huge variety of things I saw there but the 4 ft reef
> shark swimming less than an arm's length away with a hopeful glint in its
> eye was - shall we say - distracting.

Haven't had the opportunity to do the Nassau dive.  The Bahamas site
was about the same depth, I think a little less, I apologize for not
digging my original volume 1 dive log out at this point, it's buried
somewhere in the spare bedroom closet :-)  But it was a very
unremarkable site, other than the abandoned recompression chamber, and
you would not want to dive there if not for the sharks.

And I know what you're saying about the "hopeful glint" (which actually
is putting it very lightly) in their eyes.  I used to be a volunteer
diver at our aquarium and fed the sharks and rays myself.  Yes, they
expect food, and in fact will demand it (I was bitten on the head through
a 7mm hood by a bonnethead shark) in addition to the usual precautions
you have to take when feeding them (be careful with hands/fingers).

But they are impatient when accustomed to feeding.  But this isn't
limited to sharks.  You're a big Cozumel fanatic, so maybe you can
relate to this.  One day diving my non-diving wife went with me on the
boat, and for the surface interval they tied up at the little buoy off
Playa Corona where they often take snorkelers because it is so shallow.
The snorkeling boat "snorkel-masters" or whatever you want to call them
would feed the fish to attract them for the touristas.  Well, my wife
dropped off the boat to snorkel during the surface interval and was
immediately swarmed by a school of chubs, and to make matters worse,
there were several patches of "purple" on the bottom (sargeant major
egg nests) and you know how territorial they are.  It took a long time
to get her back in the water :-)

Of course, that buoy may or may not still be there, I haven't been since
1999, but I would guess you know the spot.  John Nitrox can vouch for me
as to it's existence, I took him there for a shore dive to open up the
1999 NEDfest.  The fish aren't quite so aggressive when you sneak up on
them from shore though; but drive up in a noisy boat and drop over the
side and they'll be waiting for sure.  Another off-topic fact, that spot
is where I saw (and Reef Fish and John Nitrox at different times) the
absolutely largest spotted drum I have ever seen in my life.  I would
almost swear it was the same fish (Reef Fish introduced me to the spot,
and I later brought John there) and it was HUGE.  We're talking about
a foot long here.  They're usually so tiny.

But I digress, I should shut up :-)

Jeff