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Friday, July 11, 2014

Despite shark attacks, divers continue to probe the sea

Monday, September 10, 2001


But some scuba divers call it the ultimate diving experience.

"We're very excited if we see sharks," said Latti Adams, who once saw hundreds of silky sharks on a Gulf Coast dive. "We consider it a privilege."

The divers are confident the clarity of the deep blue -- instead of murky beach water -- will protect them from "mistaken identity" attacks.


Shark paradise




"We as divers aren't worried about the sharks so much. It's the swimmers and the people on top of the water," said Adams, of Jackson. "The sharks can't see what they are. They can't distinguish the swimmers from food."


George Burgess, who runs the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida, said if sharks can see people clearly, there's less danger of such a "mistaken identity" attack.

Fewer attacks



"Sharks are definitely not out looking to grab humans most of the time," Burgess said. "They tend to shy away from an organism they're not familiar with."

Divers on the Sea Angel trips, run by Jackson's Deep South Scuba, run into sharks by chance, unlike divers who participate in some Caribbean operations in which sharks are drawn with "chumcicles," frozen food set in the water to attract the creatures.




Still, they do attack




"The fact of the matter is that sharks can and occasionally do do damage," Burgess said. "We need to respect them, not hug them."


"You might make 1,000 dives and never see a shark, and after all those dives you say 'I wanna see one,'" Scott said. "It's a very exhilarating, very enlightening, experience."

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