#sharks #bahamas #nassau #scubadiving
Filmed/Edited by Juan Iribarren @Underwater_Explorations
Dive Operator: Stuart Cove Dive Bahamas (www.stuartcove.com). Highly recommended professional staff. Special thanks to Samuel "Sam" Bastian (instagram: @scubasam242 / Divemaster and Shark-Handler) Laura Carrizo (instagram: @carridiver / Safety Diver and Photographer) and Rene (Instructor and Safety Diver)
Bahamas is well-known for its crystal clear beaches, luxury resorts and fine dining. Millions of tourists travel from all over the world to enjoy the sweet Island life Bahamas has to offer. However, most people are unaware of how rich the marine life is bellow the tranquil surface of it’s pristine waters. Beautiful and healthy reefs, impressive walls and more intriguingly, the vast presence of sharks, particularly Reef Sharks and Tiger Sharks. In this episode we went off the coast of Nassau Island to encounter sharks in their natural enviroment, and what a thrill. The sensation of having a 9 foot shark swimming towards me is an experience unlike anything I have done before. During the dive we met at least a dozen of these beautiful and majestic creatures.
About the dive:
Operator: Stuart Cove Dive Shop - Nassau
Two-tanks - 21% air
Total time approximately 90 minutes
The dive sites consisted of a shipwreck (Ray of Hope) and Shark Arena dive site
Depths approximate 40-60 Feet. No currents. 85F water temperature. Excellent visibility.
Myths:
Contrary to popular belief, only a few sharks could potentially be dangerous to humans. The chances of being strike by lightening are at least 38 times greater than that of being attack by a shark. The perception of sharks as dangerous animals has been popularized by publicity given to a few isolated unprovoked attacks, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, and through popular fictional works about shark attacks, such as the Jaws film series. Jaws author Peter Benchley, as well as Jaws director Steven Spielberg, later attempted to dispel the image of sharks as man-eating monsters.
Endangered Sharks:
At the time of the publication of this video, It is estimated that nearly 100 million sharks are being killed by humans every year, due to commercial and recreational fishing. In 2021, it was estimated that the population of oceanic sharks and rays had dropped by 71% over the previous half-century.
Shark finning yields are estimated at 1.44 million metric tons (1.59 million short tons) per year. Based on an analysis of average shark weights, this translates into a total annual mortality estimate of about 100 million sharks, with a total range of possible values between 63 and 273 million sharks per year. Sharks are a common seafood in many places, including Japan and Australia. In the Australian state of Victoria, shark is the most commonly used fish in fish and chips. In India, small sharks or baby sharks (called sora in Tamil language, Telugu language) are sold in local markets. Since the flesh is not developed, cooking the flesh breaks it into powder, which is then fried in oil and spices (called sora puttu/sora poratu). The soft bones can be easily chewed. They are considered a delicacy in coastal Tamil Nadu. Icelanders ferment Greenland sharks to produce a delicacy called hákarl.
Sharks are often killed for shark fin soup. Fishermen capture live sharks, fin them, and dump the finless animal back into the water. Shark finning involves removing the fin with a hot metal blade.The resulting immobile shark soon dies from suffocation or predators. Shark fin has become a major trade within black markets all over the world. Fins sell for about $300/lb in 2009. Poachers illegally fin millions each year. Few governments enforce laws that protect them. In 2010 USA prohibit the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins. Not enough countries have followed the same path since. Much work is left to be done to protect these beautiful creatures.
6 ноя 2022
