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Old 05-24-2021, 07:52 PM   #1
NorCalTom
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Shark Etiquette

Hey Folks - I grew up spearing around the Bahamas with family. We were never very intense, and I'm interested in taking it up a notch. Now that I'm back in the area I'm trying to recalibrate my risk gauge.

When I was growing up, our rule was to get out of the water if you see a non-nurse shark. What do ya'll use for best practice?

Thanks for the learnings!

...and I might have a few more questions for other threads too.

Thom
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Old 05-25-2021, 02:01 PM   #2
Marco
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Re: Shark Etiquette

Interesting...

I've been living (and diving) in South Florida for 3 years now and still learning.

I would say that trying to stone your fish (not always possible) and retrieve it as fast as possible (also because of goliaths) is a must.
There's some spots where you are allowed (by the bulls) to shoot one or two fish before they become really anoying.
Some other spots have very aggressive sharks. I think that's because some other divers were there and probably they stole their fish before you got there.
We don't get out as soon as they show up, but as soon as they become "interested" in us and our catch. You'll eventually learn to feel it.
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Old 05-26-2021, 08:35 AM   #3
NorCalTom
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Thumbs up Re: Shark Etiquette

Super helpful. I suspect that's the way that most people handle sharks. There are just too many of them to be squeamish about it. Appreciate the insights!
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Old 05-26-2021, 02:01 PM   #4
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Re: Shark Etiquette

Stick your thumb in their bum and they'll do the boot scoot boogey.
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Old 05-26-2021, 04:53 PM   #5
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Re: Shark Etiquette

Great question. In asking it, I wager you will get a wild set of responses, ranging from the super-safe to the cavalier.

When I started spearing in the Bahamas fifteen years ago, we had several family policies regarding sharks:

When a non-nurse shark comes, everyone gets in the boat and we move. (We never, in the early years, speared a fish at a spot where a shark had already presented. They are always present in the Bahamas, but when they have allowed you to see them, the mercury is already rising)

If you shoot a fish with a sling, put the handle back on the shaft to create a few inches of space between your hand and the fish and hold the fish, straight arm, above your head when swimming up. When taking from a spearo, sharks are keenly focused on the fish, not you. If a shark comes when you are following these guidelines, he's more likely to get his goal without accidentally wrapping you up in his teeth. Sharks that decide to come, come fast, brutal, and unexpectedly. Seems like most who are bitten report feeling the incident before seeing what is happening.

When you spear a fish, look 360 degrees, then take it immediately to the surface and out of the water and hold it in the air until the boat arrives, face down watching for what's coming.

Once you take your third fish from a spot, move. No matter how many fish remain.

Dive with a good buddy.

My personal experience dictates that following these protocols will minimize your risk of a shark breaking into your personal space.

Eventually, tho, one gets casual and complacent. Or, your wish to pursue fish where such things are impossible gets in the way of perfect procedure. Two examples:

1.) My father-in-law won't do the buddy system. A few years ago, this resulted in a shark bite. A hot shark came in on my dive buddy's speared hogfish. I saw the shark coming, dove, and put myself between my buddy and the shark and the sharks decided to move off. When the shark took off, already amped up after swimming through the blood, he encountered my FIL coming out of the rock with a struggling hogfish. Not to be thwarted twice, he plowed into the fish and bit my FIL in the face and leg. He never saw it coming. A few stitches and he was fine, and if you ask him, he wouldn't do anything differently. A shark bite that leaves you with a little scar and a good story is a shark bite worth having.

2.) My favorite place to spear is outside the reef. If you observe rule one above and get out of the water every time you see a toothy shark, you won't be doing much spearing. The water is gin clear and you see many sharks cruise in and out of your range of vision. Now you are violating your policy. It's a measured risk, and you must operate knowing that the shark will decide what he wishes. You may not like his decision. One of the ways we mitigate this risk is to dive as a pack. A four-buddy system when perfectly executed. Two divers, two surface buddies. When a person is diving to shoot, we will send a second diver to hang mid-column. The horizontal viz is far better down out of the surface glare and that second diver is on shark duty. The spearo spears, then passes the mid-column diver on the way to the surface. This will not prevent an unwanted encounter, but it will give you a better chance of intervention from your buddies. Plus it puts a lot of big stuff in the water. Sharks generally want a sneak attack with no resistance. But even with all the people, we've had to fire at sharks that were coming in, damn the torpedos.

If you talk to enough spearfishermen, you will find many of the opinion that once your hands are on the speared fish, the sharks will back off. This seems to be mostly true worldwide, but is patently false if accepted as gospel, especially in some parts of the Bahamas where the sharks have learned to hunt hand-in-hand with spearfishermen. I have seen many sharks avoid a fish that is held by a spearo, but I have also witnessed sharks breaking that boundary. A timer starts when a wounded fish is pumping out blood and making noise, whether you have hands on the fish or not, and you can't judge when the shark will decide that time is up.

Consideration of sharks is very regional. We use the above protocols in Abaco. I wouldn't bother with the same rules here in Texas on the rigs because shark behavior is wildly different. We can shoot ten snapper off the same rig without a visit. In fact, we really don't consider sharks at all when hunting the rigs unless you are swimming outside the jacket. But then if you are pursuing wahoo offshore or diving dorado on sargassum or looking for tuna behind a shrimp boat, you have hugely different experiences. In those instances, you are just living with the risk, as you'll be surrounded by hundreds of sharks at a time. I've dove in those situations. The fishing is incredible, but I don't love the shark risk. I'm headed that way in about a month. Can't wait.
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Old 05-26-2021, 08:45 PM   #6
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Re: Shark Etiquette

Great info and enjoyed reading.
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