Shark Words

photo by Mary O'Malley Shark feeding dives provide an excellent way to meet a lot of sharks, and represent a unique situation in which sharks are treated well by humanity. Sharks would not come to shark dives without the promise of something good in it for them. So shark dive clubs usually bring some fishy scraps—in most cases the remains left over after big fish have been cut up for sale. The scent attracts the sharks into view, and provides a bit of excitement as the animals investigate and try to get a piece. But little actual food or nourishment is given. The sharks circle far and wide through the vast volume of the visible ocean, in a memorable and dramatic display, as they look over the scene, zoom in for a closer look, try for a scrap, and socialize. The divers generally remain in an agreed-upon position so that the sharks can come and go from the food unobstructed. The procedure works well, and is followed by divers around the world, almost without inciden...