Environmentalists, fishermen, and some of the public believe that baiting is directly linked to shark attacks. They are putting there foot down and trying to make change. Bob Dimond, president of the Marine Safety Group (MSG), one of the first environmental organizations to label shark diving unsafe. Dimond says feeding sharks makes them associate humans with food, and therefore makes them more likely to attack. Bob Dimond has stating strictly his own opinion. He has no evidence to back up his theory, so how can we believe exactly what he says and ban the issue. It just doesn’t make sense. Individuals who take his side are strictly scared of being bitten by sharks and want to make sure all is done to avoid it.
However, many shark experts believe that the feeding dives aren’t bad for sharks, aren’t responsible for attacks, and educate the public about the animal’s importance to the environment. Clive James, of the British conservation group Shark Trust, says shark-feeding operations have hosted thousands of bite-free dives, and Sam Gruber, a lemon shark expert at the University of Miami, has been feeding sharks for research purposes for 20 years without incident. Gruber also says that after decades of feeding, his sharks still behave normally and mate every summer. If there was conclusive evidence that sharks behave differently when they are fed, I could see banning shark feeding being appropriate. It is obvious that the behavior of the sharks hasn’t changed since these operations have been going on for so long without harm. Until such research is proven, I am gonna have to take sides with the dive operators.
Picture: Provided by photobucket.
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