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Bahamastext and Photos by Charles Stirling — Diving the Islands BahamasText and photos by Charles Stirling The Bahamas are an English speaking island nation known to most of us, but for very diverse reasons. For many living in Florida or nearby, it’s a location for a quick day or weekend break for beach or casino. For Europeans, it’s an offshore financial and investment capital. To many, it’s the location for films and TV programs that feature water and sea, such as the Pirates of The Caribbean, The Spy Who Loved Me, or even the TV series, Flipper, plus many others. For divers, we think of Blue Holes and technical dives or one of the best places to see sharks. Dive master holds a Caribbean reef shark at UNEXSO showing it in its state of stupor Are the Bahamas a location worth coast, the Mediterranean a short North America the yes decision One of the reasons for the divers? Without rivers visibility is dives with backup teams and lots going to as a visiting recreational flight away, the Red Sea easily should be even easier. They increasing use of the Bahamas excellent, water temperatures are of equipment, but some of this diver? From an English diver’s accessible, YES I still think the would be a good place to learn for filming is of course the good tropical or near. The Blue Hole diving is possible and open for the perspective, with the multitude Bahamas offer something worth to dive with the family yet still offer diving conditions, so is that diving rapidly becomes one for recreational diver. Shark sighting of wreck dives around our UK going for. Of course if you are in a lot to experienced divers. enough to attract sports oriented technical or even very technical is easily possible either naturally or 54 X-RAY MAG : 44 : 2011 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED travel Bahamas on specialist shark dives. Besides these two big attractions are the absolutely stunning great walls, many wrecks, and a big diversity in coral reefs with the worlds third longest barrier reef all giving divers plenty to see. Along with this it’s not overly crowded and can be very personal. Diving in the Bahamas can of course be done from a variety of liveaboard boats often out of Florida as it’s so close. This gives a good all American experience, easy multiple dives a day and depending on the trip either a single or multiple objectives. It does mean being on a boat most of the time but with some of the large luxury ones it’s not necessarily in cramped quarters. Liveaboard trips also start from Nassau, Grand Bahama and Exumas. I’ve not done this, maybe another trip another time. I do enjoy time for exploring land exposure. The tourism attraction and even fish feeds in some locations. based opportunities, meeting local benefits of sharks mean many How much should people “interfere” people and having the variety that operators offer a “shark dive” with with natural system? As a diver, can come from being firmly planted sharks being fed. OK, we now have environmentalist and photographer on land even though I wasn’t able controversy! This is a touchy subject I try not to disturb the environment, to do much of this because of time as many believe that divers should we are all told / trained not to touch constraints, but the theory is present. never interact or in any way influence when diving, to leave only bubbles any animal on any dive, while others (or spend the money on a rebreather Types of dives are happy to spearfish or collect and don’t even do that). Most sharks Sharks always seem high on most shellfish. It’s the “leave only bubbles” are not going to be interested in being diver’s “want to see” list. Some debate. There is also the controversy near divers, they are shy, we are not consider the Bahamas as one of of possibly altering behaviour by food, and they are wide ranging, so, LEFT TO RIGHT: Nassau groupers help to keep reefs healthy by controlling smaller fish but still want a the world’s best places to have that associating people with feeding which worldwide, attracting them into view clean occasionally. One problem for these important fish is they are tasty to humans; Yellowline arrow introduction or even an extensive has produced a ban on shark feeds is done with chumming or feeding of crab; Soft corals are plentiful on some sites, often as individuals in small patches not as great masses 55 X-RAY MAG : 44 : 2011 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED Shark taken along the line of divers at UNEXSO to be seen and touched (left); Shark feeding site but not a feeding dive travel and the sharks ignored divers (below) Bahamas site on the bottom. We were lined up the back. Talking to some of the divers kneeling on the sand shoulder to shoulder after, all agreed this was great and one with our backs to a section of wreck, OK, experienced diver offered the comment an old decompression chamber, with that the feed then touching a shark was hands kept out of the way. Once settled the highlight of all his diving experiences. then the chain mail clad shark feeder Previously he had been terrified by even opened a container of fish to hand feed the thought of a shark. This quiescent one fish at a time to any individual shark behaviour isn’t understood but is well that was closest. This was started first in documented. The sharks having been front of the whole group, as the shark fed, contacts made, the divers were temperaments were judged as OK the free to look for sharks teeth in the sand feeding moved closer along the length of for another 10 minutes before being the line for each diver. Yes, sharks would led back to the surface with the safety be everywhere coming into the feed just diver. The woman shark feeder, the overhead or along in front. The sharks official photographer and I stayed down made direct contact with the person longer and in these calm conditions feeding being rather gentle in taking the she was able to rest one of the larger food from her hand. sharks in her lap for nearly 6 minutes. After the food was gone she put her Handling the sharks also meant fish hooks gloved hand on one of the smaller and sometimes ectoparasites could be shark’s nose which made it go into a removed. quiescent, almost stupor like state and So is the shark behaviour modified this animal was gently held and taken with this interaction? Doing a dive in the along the line for each visitor to touch on same area without the feeding some some sort. It’s a controversy that some to the public. Each dive operator aware of them as they aren’t frequently see as very important, wanting to stop had slightly different approaches and seen so interest is lost for many. The the feeding’ while others see it as a methods to their shark feeds, but all cliché of “out of sight out of mind” could tsunami in a tea cup. Whichever, it is had sharks to see up close. I ended up be appropriate. done here. thinking these dives were a worthwhile UNEXSO wants to demonstrate that Yes, the right dive site in the Bahamas introduction for many so I rather broke sharks are not wanton killers and you will see sharks going about their my own rules. Actually they were great The most hands on and interactive business off in the distance. Occasionally fun and educational, you would really be was UNEXSO, Underwater Explorers if you can be very stealthy its possible to missing a lot if not going on at least one Society, on Grand Bahama who use a get a bit closer. Getting really close I did of these dives. site called “Shark Junction”. After a short shark feed dives with 3 of the popular boat trip a thorough briefing was given operators. First, all 3 were very safety Shark Dives which covered safety and organisation conscious with visiting divers. They were Sharks and fish do inevitably modify of the dive. They then went on to place aware of how it might change behaviour behavior when fed; they will learn a lot of emphasis on how they want so amounts and frequency of food was the sound of a boat or divers with a to demonstrate that sharks are not an limited and the food was natural, i.e. pavlovian response to find food. How automatic menace to divers and the fish. None fed enough to be a significant important is this, will it increase their need for divers to be ambassadors portion of a shark’s normal daily needs. chance of being caught by fisherman or spreading the word that sharks are not One of the big things they are concerned be a hazard to us? Does the increased wanton killers. about is the plummeting numbers of interest from divers seeing them outweigh The dive starts with all entering the sharks worldwide and how incredibly the changes. Shark feeding in Hawaii water about the same time to follow a important it is to bring this awareness was banned in 2002, now divers are not safety diver all together down to a sandy 56 X-RAY MAG : 44 : 2011 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED Shark encounter with Stuart Cove’s (left); Small Hope Bay shark encounter with a more hands off approach still had plenty of sharks up close and Bahamas travel personal (below) short but still to an area away from time was allowed for tooth hunting much of the other diving, the site before the group was escorted back was again a sandy one near an to the boat.
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