Dive Pacific Iss 171 Oct- Nov 2019

A healthy ecosystem
and while each have differing
characteristics and behaviours, all
have one thing in common; they
are innately cautious and usually
non-confrontational.
That’s not to say diving with
sharks is risk-free.
Most sharks that the average
diver sees underwater are in
cruise mode; calm, controlled
and cautious, even in an artificial
‘shark feed’ situation. But a shark
in hunting mode, or feeling threatened
or agitated is a different story
altogether!
gaping mouth full of massive triangular
teeth, and pectoral fins as
wide as the cage.
Another surreal moment from a
shoot earlier this year was hanging
mid-water with eight large and
pushy Tiger Sharks as they tore
into a dead cow. These sharks
weren’t accustomed to divers and
they saw us as competitors. They
were extremely interactive! It’s
not easy keeping track of eight
constantly moving sharks in a
3-dimensional world, especially
with blood clouding the water!
Getting bullied
I have been bullied by a pack of
Lemon sharks in Tahiti, bumped
by Sevengill sharks in Fiordland,
surrounded by 40 or 50 hunting
reef sharks in an intense night
dive in Tahiti, had my dome
port scratched by a very close
encounter with a Great White, and
been forced out of the water by an
agitated Mako.
While those experiences were
all pretty intense, none made me
feel that filming sharks is overly
dangerous - as long as you prepare
Tearing into a dead
cow
Broadcasters want
sequences of shark
behaviour and close
encounters with big
sharks, and filming
sharks for TV gets you
into some very different
situations to those the
recreational shark diver
experiences.
One I won’t forget is
diving with Great Whites
in an open filming cage
at night. There can be
very few experiences as
intense as seeing a huge
shape looming out of the
blackness, head rapidly
filling your field of view,
Dave up close with a Tiger shark
Photo Etienne Menger
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