WALKER'S CAY, Bahamas (25 Apr 2002) -- Shark feeding fanatic and shark diving tour operator Erich Ritter is in stable condition after a shark attacked him at a Bahamas shark feeding site. According to police, Ritter, 43, went into severe shock after losing a large part of his left leg. He was rushed to the airport and medivaced to a hospital in Palm Beach, Florida where a surgical team was standing by. The shark, believed to be a 160-kg (350-pound) bull shark, attacked Ritter while he was standing in waist deep water performing for a TV adventure show film crew. Ironically, Ritter has been one of the most strident dive industry voices arguing that commercial shark feeding activities are not dangerous. During the dive industry's failed attempt to stop Florida's ban on shark feeding, Ritter claimed he could protect himself by modifying his heart rate and had never been bitten thanks to his expert knowledge of shark behavior. Legitimate shark scientists scoff at Ritter's ideas and describe him as a quack. "(Ritter) was an accident waiting to happen," said Samuel Gruber, a University of Miami professor and director of the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas. "There is no evidence to support his theories. "He has been getting more and more fearless, or some would say bold--this method is basically to titillate TV cameras," Gruber added. "(Ritter) wants to impress people that he can control these sharks and they will never bite him." A PADI Open Water instructor and self-proclaimed "world-renowned (sic) shark expert", Ritter runs a small shark feeding tour business out of his home in Miami, Florida. | | Shark feeding tour operator Erich Ritter at Walker's Cay performing circus stunts for a lowest common denominator TV show not long before a bull shark lunched on his left leg. Ritter is also associated with shark feeding promoter and liveaboard hostess Stan Waterman's often ridiculed Global Shark Attack Fund (GSAF), not to be confused with the prestigious and highly respected International Shark Attack Fund (ISAF) based at the University of Florida. According to several leading scientists in the field of shark behavior, the GSAF is a New Jersey based dive industry vehicle concocted by Waterman "to help the industry legitimize commercial shark feeding activities." © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
