DEERFIELD BEACH, Florida (16 Mar 2002) -- A skilled snorkeler who unknowingly ventured close to a south Florida commercial shark feeding site was attacked and bitten by a small nurse shark Friday morning. Robert Land, 39 of Deerfield Beach was swimming just a few hundred yards from the Sea Emperor - a sunken wreck and favored shark-feeding sites of local dive operators - when the 3 ft. shark latched onto Land's arm and refused to let go. Land, a strong swimmer, was fortunately able to muscle the shark to the surface where he was rescued by nearby boaters who witnessed the attack. "If they weren't there, I don't think you'd be talking to me right now," Land said. The shark refused to release its bite even after the boaters cut its belly. Boca Raton Fire-Rescue workers waiting at nearby docks at the Boca Raton Beach Club finally freed Land by prying the shark's jaws open with wood planks and pieces of metal. Despite the new rule by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that prohibits divers from feeding marine life, a few Florida operators continue to defy the FFWCC ban by taking advantage of a perceived loophole in the new rule. While the clear intent of the new FFWCC rule was to stop people from altering marine wildlife behavior by offering them food, the wording of the rule prohibits only divers from feeding sharks and other marine life. To get around the rule, operators now bait wild sharks for diver client viewing by dangling chum bags from a fishing pole held on board the dive boat. The Sea Emperor, about 200 yards from where Land was attacked, is a site that continues to be used in this way. Florida marine life expert Dr. Bill Alevizon believes that there may well be a direct connection between nearby shark feeding/baiting operations and the attack on Mr. Land. | | "You have a combination of factors here that would seem more than coincidental, specifically highly unnatural, aggressive behavior by a fish of the same species and size range that have been regularly fed and pawed by divers for years just a short distance away." "This is precisely analogous to the kinds of problems we've seen with fed bears and other wildlife for a hundred years now," Alevizon continued. "Normally peaceful, reclusive animals unpredictably turning aggressive and violent towards people because they have been conditioned by feeding - why would we expect anything different from fed sharks?" Local charter dive Captain Tony Coulter agrees. "We never had these kinds of problems in Florida until a few people started feeding sharks and other fish around here a few years back." "Most divers want to see wildlife left wild," added Coulter. It's time for authorities to shut down the few remaining defiant and selfish operators who are ignoring the FFWCC intentions once and for all." According to unconfirmed reports, at least two Florida dive operators, including Jeff Torode's South Florida Diving Headquarters in Broward County and Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures in Palm Beach County, are flaunting the law against shark feeding. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
