ScubaBrucie

Bull sharks probably come into human contact far more than any other. There is still a large population of them because they breed less slowly than many other sharks, they are happy in shallow water, they go up rivers and even live into lakes, and they are found where there are lots of humans in places such as Florida and the east coast of South Africa.

Yet still the number of bites each year is very small, and almost always an exploratory bite in very bad visibility water. The victim is nearly always spat out when the shark realises that it has made a mistake. Human deaths are from loss of blood from this bite.

Deliberate encounters of scuba divers with Bulls happen a lot on Protea and Aliwal shoals and they have never had any problems. Likewise, Walkers Cay was a Bull shark paradise and you could snorkel with them for hours. Admittedly Ritter lost his calf there but the water had become turbid, there were food scraps present and his white calves were uncovered, so it was perhaps understandable that the shark made a mistake.

Walkers Key changed ownership, the new owners closed the dive operation, the sharks lost their “protection” and now they are no more, fished out for their fins.

Pre Jaws, Great Whites were considered to be shy, nervous and big. Cousteau says as much in The Silent World. I know two people who have dived without a cage with Great Whites and they both lived to tell the tale. Mike Rutzen has done it loads of times.

Off the California surfing beaches there is a constant presence of Great Whites yet attacks are very rare and are very obviously mistaken identity, the victim on a surfboard looking like a seal from below. Once again they are spat out as soon as the shark realises it’s mistake.

We are coming into more contact with Oceanic White Tips these days because the dive boats have been feeding them at places like Elphinstone and The Brothers, where the reef is next to deep water.

These are true ocean going sharks and live in an environment where meals can be few and far between, so they investigate everything in the water to see if they can eat it — and that includes divers.

It is unnerving when one of these magnificent creatures comes at you to see your reaction and it is my least favourite shark diving experience.

Remember that Oceanics have the reputation for cleaning up after plane crashes and shipwrecks.

Tigers are big and are known for eating anything. Their teeth are optimised for going straight through a turtle shell, and experience shows that they tend to mainly just ignore scuba divers. It is as if we weren’t there. In recent years they have appeared at Raas Muhammed and the Tiran islands so lots of European divers have now seen them. Only occasionally do they get curious.

It is interesting that a couple of years ago one attacked and killed a bather in Naama bay. Perhaps it is the scuba bubbles that keep them away from us.

Bronze Whalers are found in warmish waters worldwide. When they come to investigate you they do it together, not one at a time. Turn round and you will see that there are also some behind you.

Blue sharks are oceanic and so will investigate you. Their numbers have been particularly decimated, with Spanish fishermen just about eradicating the Atlantic Blue for their fins.

Silkys are another oceanic shark so will investigate everything in the water. They are quite big, at over three metres, and will circle quite closely.

Silvertip sharks also investigate divers and are another three metre shark.

Great Hammerheads are big (around six metres!) and have a reputation for giving divers a close checkout, but they are rare so it would be a very special experience.

The truth of the matter is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to see a shark. The Chinese soup industry is taking 100 million out of the water every year.

They are fished all over the world. Many species are over 90% depleted and if the killing stopped today populations would not even recover during your children’s lifetime.

Unlike whales protection is sporadic: Great Whites are protected in Australia, South Africa and the USA but are vulnerable elsewhere. Egypt has recently put in a total shark fishing ban but they still have to police it. The Maldivians are the biggest hypocrites, attracting divers to see the sharks but at the same time being a major exporter of fins to China.

Whale sharks are especially endangered worldwide as their big fins sell for a huge premium in China. Unless very urgent action is taken they will soon all be gone. You can join the Shark Trust (www.sharktrust.org) now and do something about it.

Meanwhile there is only one thing in the sea that hunts and eats humans — and that is the salt water crocodile, which eats well over a thousand people a year. They just haven’t made a hit film about it yet.