Chris Chew asked:
Among the many scuba diving attractions in Little Bahama Bank of the Caribbean Sea, scuba diving with sharks is one of the favorite underwater activities for scuba divers there.
Bahamas’ Bull Pit Shark Dive
This is a classic shark diving destination and having been scuba dived so frequently for many years. It is because of this factor that the sharks there can now associate the sound of boat engines with food. Hey, it is always lunch time whenever boats are approaching.
These awesome sea predators will move very quickly into the area once they sense that the dive boats are coming. Since this strange and unnatural shark behavior that is being cultivated by human activities is not a natural characteristic of sharks hunting for food has been criticized by marine conservationists.
The Bull Pit is made up of a series of low lying reefs and canyons that create a maze of interesting channels and gullies for scuba divers to explore. One favorite method of shark watching by scuba divers is to wait in one of these gullies and wait for the sharks to come near. The sharks of course are aware that the scuba divers are around and will sometimes swim up close to inspect the intruders and to check for food handouts.
Although The Bull Pit dive site is considered a safe diving location, inexperienced divers may be frightened to find themselves in such close proximity with these fierce meat eating predators. All novice and inexperienced scuba divers should therefore dive under the close supervision of experienced divers so that they would not panic and do things that may attract the sharks to think of them as food.
Bahamas Shark Rodeo
This famous shark rodeo in Little Bahama Bank is a flat patch of sand the size of a football field at Walker’s Cay. Dive boats will usually circle the site first, gunning the boat’s engines to attract the sharks.
Upon entering the water, scuba divers will settle on the sandy seabed in sight of a ‘chumsicle’ which is a large frozen mass of fish contained in a porous cylinder. The good thing about this shark feeding system is that it avoids pieces of fish remains floating near watching scuba divers so as to prevent shark attacking scuba divers by accident.
The feeding sharks, often more than a hundred of them from several shark species will suddenly zoom in to the chumsicle in a feeding frenzy. This is when the show begins. Divers are warned to keep very still when some of the sharks may glide over to check out who is eyeing their meals or worse, eating the scuba divers as their meal.
So if you plan for a scuba diving trip to the Bahamas, do dive with the sharks.
Tags: Boat Engines, Lunch Time, Shark Rodeo, Sharks, Underwater Activities
