Florida bans shark-feeding craze

A shark scare gripped the US in the summer of 2001

By Fergal Parkinson in Miami

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has banned shark feeding off its coast because it is altering the animals' natural behaviour.

Shark dives bring thousands of tourists and millions of dollars to the state and there's been no attacks on anyone on a shark-feeding tour

Robert Weaver
Diver

Shark feeding is becoming increasingly popular in Florida and every year thousands of people travel to the region to swim, dive and fish for sharks.

The number of companies specialising in this unusual pastime, whereby divers leave huge chunks of fish in the water hoping to attract the many different varieties of sharks which populate the waters around here, is increasing.

Wrong message

Critics have been warning of the dangers for some time after a number of fatal beach attacks.

Already this year there have been 39 attacks including one in July when a shark ripped the arm off 9-year-old Jessie Arbogast as he swam in the sea.

The feeding ban comes into force on 1 January 2002

Marine experts now warn that hand-feeding sharks teaches the animals to associate people with food which, they claim, leads to beach attacks.

Since the attack on the boy, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee has been investigating the activity and while they say there is no evidence to suggest feeding sharks leads to beach attacks they do agree it alters the animals' natural behaviour and they have banned it.

"There is no question it alters their behaviour and is detrimental to Florida marine life," commissioner Julie Morris said.

Protest

Scuba boat operators have filed a lawsuit in the State Court to overturn the ban.

They argue the feedings do not harm the sharks and that the practice does not a pose a danger to the public.

John Stewart, a spokesman for the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association, or DEMA, a California-based scuba boat operator organization, said that if shark feeding had posed a danger to the public, a diver would have been attacked on one of the tours.

Robert Weaver, a keen diver from Key West in Florida said he could not believe the ban.

"Shark dives bring thousands of tourists and millions of dollars to the state and there's been no attacks on anyone on a shark-feeding tour," he said.