Will feeding Sharks teach them to associate People with Food?

Source.

That is indeed the question!

Behold Helen Scales' cliffhanger blog post!.

Helen obviously made it, just, or she wouldn't be blogging - but what about the BAD boyz and the other customers on that dive?

Aahhh the unbearable suspense!

Anyway, it has been a real pleasure meeting her.

The term that comes to mind here is Renaissance woman: seriously erudite but not at all geeky, seriously passionate but not at all dogmatic, extremely well documented about the details whilst aware of the big picture, foremost of which the realities of the anthropocene - and seriously witty and charming to boot! Were it not for her decision to associate herself with a bunch of despicable splitters (and here!) I would have really liked her!

But I'm digressing as usual.

With bated breath and whispering humbleness, eagerly awaiting Part 2!

Hero!

Rusi and Scarface. Pic: Michael Aw

That would be Samuel "Doc" Gruber.

In a letter published on Oceanic Dreams, he writes,

Hi ................. :

I am a proponent of shark diving. While it does affect a few sharks, when compared to the approximately 100 million killed annually for fin and flesh the minimal impact of this human activity pales in comparison.

I feel that shark dives produce several very beneficial outcomes for humans and sharks. First exposing divers to sharks, safely and professionally - and in a beautiful environment will inevitably turn fear into fascination. Quickly these people become ambassadors for shark conservation. Further it produces jobs and income for areas and folks that need the work - especially in an economy such as the Bahamian one. Tourism in the Bahamas is the country's life blood, and sharks are a draw!!

As for hazard - tens of thousands of divers worldwide have safely enjoyed professional shark encounters ever since they were established in the Bahamas nearly 40 years ago. It is true that some people have been injured and there was even one fatality, but compared to other water sports this is a pittance.

Nearly a decade ago the World Health Organization estimated that over 400,000 people drowned in year 2000 making this the second leading cause of unintentional death after highway accidents. So shark dives turn out to be a very SAFE form of water activity when conducted in a professional way.

What I have written is controversial. Animal lovers think that humans have no right to interfere with non-human creatures. This is their opinion, not mine. Biologists always say "don't feed the animals." But I have been feeding sharks at my field station for over 20 years www.miami.edu/sharklab, and have observed their behavior carefully (my degree is in marine animal behavior and sensory physiology). I know for a fact that our shark encounters do not greatly affect the Caribbean reef sharks we feed.

- They do not become habituated to humans such that they completely lose their natural fear.
- They do not begin to consider us as food.

- They are very focused on what we do and learn almost instantly what the feeding situation means.

- They do not depend on us for food but hunt normally and supplement this ordinary behavior with our feedings.

- New individuals join the colony all the time, learn what we do and do not pose a danger. These reef sharks leave the area during breeding season in August and go about their normal reproductive activities. They return about three months later.

I cannot even begin to tell you how utterly rewarding (and surprising) it is to have a scientist of Doc's caliber make the above unequivocal statements.
This is exactly our own perception and we're currently spending quite a bit of time collecting the data that will eventually lead to a paper dispelling the old tired "association" myth.

Thank you Doc, you're a shining beacon in an Ocean of ignorance and prejudice!
 

Yet again, a new Chumming Ban

Bush may be a lame turducken (incompetence stuffed with stupidity stuffed with arrogance) when it comes to saving the Economy, but you can sure count on him when it comes to undermining Conservation and Human Rights!

In a frantic surge of "midnight regulations", the Bush Administration is scrambling to approve or change as many federal rules as it can before it hands off power to President-elect Barack Obama.

Before a Federal agency approves any construction project– anything from building a dam to a post office — government officials must consult the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. These two agencies enforce the Endangered Species Act, and they can veto any project that adversely affects an animal on the endangered species list.
A regulation proposed by the Interior Dept. Aug. 12 would end this approval process.

Other regulations will effect worker’s safety (less of it - and to top it off, less sick leave) , women’s health-care choices (yes you guessed it: against contraception and abortion) and local police powers (more spying on citizens, what else...).
Check it out, it is simply epic!

Given this kind of Leadership, the following comes as no surprise.

"After seven years of soul-searching (how come I'm not surprised......), Federal officials have issued a major expansion of Federal rules governing three marine sanctuaries."

"The revised rules ban chumming for Great White Sharks around San Francisco's Farallon Islands for thrill-seeking divers in cages and photo-snapping tourists -- rules that have long been enforced closer to shore in waters colloquially known as the Bloody Triangle for their history of Shark attacks.
As for luring Sharks closer to thrill-seekers with fish and blood, known as chum, William J. Douros, western regional director of the National Marine Sanctuaries said: "We just think it was a bad idea for white sharks to associate humans with blood in the water."

"We just Think", of all things........Yeah, right.........

No, I'm not gonna bore you with yet another, obviously futile rant.
I've blogged about it before and stand by what I said then. As long as we remain fractured, we shall never prevail against the anti-Shark-diving lobby, especially when the tree-huggers wield executive powers like in the present case.

Richard Theiss of RTSea has posted a comment about the whole fiasco and I should commend him for his conciliatory and diplomatic approach. Alas, not my style.
To me, it's just yet another setback, yet again fueled by total incompetence.

But one thing's for sure: POTUS will be proud of them!