Quite a long time ago now, 2008 to be precise, when I was a failed Rock Star stuck in an office working in Recruitment, frustrated my life wasn't going where I wanted it to, I decided to start working on my exit plan, an exit plan that would get me out of the office, out of the UK and finally in to working with sharks which is where I had always wanted to be and where my talents would finally not be going to waste like they were then.
I'd been writing articles for press and media about sharks already for years, since the age of 11 or 12, and at 15 had been invited into the now sadly defunct European Shark Research Bureau as an honorary member (the only "civvy" member as well I believe), so figured I'd dust off the computer and start doing that again. I had written primarily about shark attacks, shark behaviour and the sharks of the Mediterranean previously so wanted to choose something different, chose shark feeding and the rest as they say, is history.
That article, which appeared in
DIVER Magazine was ultimately the catalyst for me being where I am now, it led to my friendships with Mike Neumann and Patric Douglas, two of the most influential people in the Shark Diving world, it opened doors for me in regards to discussing the issue to a wider audience and led to me getting full access to the Shark Reef story. Had I not written that article, it's conceivable I could still be stuck in that office today...
These days, a million Facebook threads abut the subject later, I lean towards offering my input only in a professional capacity, I just get too frustrated with people, (I shouldn't but I do) so when I was contacted by
SCUBA Diver Australasia Magazine to contribute to their piece about Shark Feeding (ironically the same title as my own article eight years ago) I was more than happy to do so given Alice Grainger's very open and pragmatic approach.
Having now read the full piece I am not disappointed! I was told very honestly that Alice would indeed wield the editorial axe over all the submitted comments to aide the construction of a cohesive piece (fair do's!) and I was pleasantly surprised to see most of what I had put forward actually made it in which was nice.
The article features input from various experts with actual in-water experience with sharks over many decades and even the comments which are less favourable towards feeding are measured and well thought out, in short, this is essential, required reading for anyone with an interest in the issue. Mike's input did suffer somewhat from the editorial axe so
he was kind enough to post it in full here. Read it!
Thanks again to Alice for the kind words and the opportunity to contribute to an intelligent piece about a subject desperately lacking in cerebral discussion.
Edit:
I found my full answer so here it is for you, unedited!
What is your opinion on baited shark dives and shark feeding dives, and
why?
It’s a strange one, I am neither “pro-shark
feeding” nor “anti-shark feeding,” it would be more accurate to say I
wholeheartedly support projects which encourage conservation initiatives for
sharks whilst involving local communities and tourism, all with a goal to create
long term, sustainable and economically successful alternatives to the short
term financial gain of commercial or sport fishing. In short, that generally
means eco-tourism shark diving and if you want to ensure your business is
sustainable, your clients need a guarantee of sharks and in most places, that
means baiting or feeding.
People have been feeding sharks since the dawn
of civilisation, as soon as we stepped aboard boats and into the water, sharks
have benefitted from our being there, it’s not this new thing people seem to
think it is. This idea that politicians or just the everyday man on the street
is going to want to protect something simply because it’s the right thing to do
is not only naive, it is grossly misguided. People need incentives to commit to
things long term and that incentive has to be financial for it to work properly.
Most of the best places in the world to see sharks are third world or developing
nations, these nations are already being exploited by fishing fleets looking to
empty their waters of fish before leaving them with nothing and heading on to
the next location to destroy and for people with nothing, short term financial
relief offered by destructive industries is going to be preferable to seeing
your family starve. What shark dive operations in these areas can do is provide
long term careers and financial stability to areas in desperate need, not just
directly linked to the shark feed either but to all the other ancillary
businesses which benefit from an influx of tourism
capital.
People who say that these feeds condition
sharks to view humans as food or as a source of food simply do not understand
sharks, sharks are not mindless killers, to imply that seeing a diver behind a
cage will condition that shark to equate a diver outside a cage, in a different
location, as food is just complete nonsense, akin to claiming a dog can learn to
drive a car because he sits in the back seat when you take him to the park. The
people who continue to make these claims are implying, whether they realise it
or not, that all cognitive development in sharks is in someway ultimately geared
towards aggression towards people which is obviously untrue, but also reduces
sharks to nothing more than the big dumb animals portrayed in the
movies.
Not all feeds are safe, not all feeds are well
intentioned and some are downright irresponsible, but we cannot condense an
industry which on the whole does some incredible things for shark conservation,
into one which is creating man-eating sharks prowling the coasts looking for
people to eat because the facts don’t lie, shark feeds have not
increased the number of shark attacks or the risk of shark attack, anywhere on
the planet, the link just does not exist. Those with moral or ethical concerns
about the practice need to consider what is better, shutting the feeds down and
letting the fishermen in to wipe out the sharks, or choosing not to partake
personally in these dives but appreciating the conservation benefit they can
provide.
A protected site under the stewardship of
local employees which serves as a site to take tourists out to see what
magnificent animals sharks are is the best available scenario we have and shark
eco-tourism, is possibly the last remaining realistic way we can halt and then
hopefully reverse the alarming decline in global shark
numbers.
Or even, how do you feel about the controversy surrounding baited
dives?
It’s a controversial issue surrounded by myths
and untruths perpetuated by people who really don’t understand the issue of
shark behaviour. The primary concern has always been the increase in the
perceived risk of attack but it just simply isn’t true, there is zero evidence
that a shark feed operation increases the risk of attacks on bathers, divers and
surfers, in fact, if you look at the statistics, you are less likely to be
bitten by a shark in a location where feeding occurs, than you are in a location
where it does not. I recently saw a claim that the cage diving operations at The
Neptune Islands, South Australia, could be directly linked to the attacks in
Western Australia which is of course ridiculous, but indicative of the kind of
opinions some people will believe are credible.
It must also be said however, that if you start
a shark feed 100 yards off shore from a popular beach, you will likely encounter
problems, not because of the implausible notion that feeding sharks conditions
them to humans as food (something which has been largely disproven) but because
you will be aggregating sharks, at least periodically, in areas of high human
recreational water use. More people, more sharks, more risk of a bite, it’s that
simple.
If you are going to open a shark feeding site, you must use
common sense, pick a site not used by recreational water users, protect the site
so you don’t aggregate sharks for the fishermen and put in place protocols from
which you never ever deviate. The basic logistics of a shark feed should be
exactly the same every single day, the sharks need to learn what is expected of
them and also, your clients must also be aware of what is expected of them, too
many shark feeding sites these days are letting clients dictate what they want
from a dive as opposed to the operator having full control over their input to
the dive. If multiple operators use the same site and the same sharks, but their
protocols are wildly different, that could confuse the sharks and could lead to
issues later down the line and nobody wants that.
It’s all about common sense, a long term
initiative which has the sharks best interests at heart and also, involving
local communities. Shark feeds run purely for commercial gain, with no thought
for the wellbeing of the sharks, are no good for anybody other than those
looking to make a fast buck.
