Kicking the Shark Diving Industry

Interesting. A chop shop comes up with two iterations of a new shark show concept called either "Shark Divers" or "Shark Business". They are both posted on You Tube to see who's interested and what, if any, ensuing media hits these two concept shows get.

Sounds familiar? It should we invented the idea.

The problem with this is that what you are watching is damaging our industry and whoever is behind this cares nothing for the many hard working operators worldwide who are trying, on a daily basis, to show our industry in a positive light. These operators care about sharks, they support research, and work tirelessly for local and regional shark causes.We spoke with Mike Lever (featured in "Shark Divers") owner of Nautilus Explorer today who has no idea how these videos came to pass - quote:

"There's no way we would do this kind of televised crap, we agree that divers should remain in cages, those are not our divers outside the cages at Isla Guadalupe"

That's it. While Hawaii decides the fate of two operations in their waters, Mexico continues to debate having shark operations in their waters, and the Bahamas has the fate of Tiger Beach in committee - one misguided media chop shop decided, alone and all by themselves, it was in the best interests of our 100 million dollar commercial shark diving industry to show the entire planet its worst face.

What a difference a "few clips" can make to the perception of a global industry.

The Today Show - Industry Speaks Out

Continuing fallout from The Today Show

It may surprise you to discover that the $200 million dollar global shark diving industry does not have a governing body.

It does not even have a membership email list.

Our industry exists as an amorphous and growing group of well meaning entrepreneurs - worldwide.

Throughout the years this most unlikely of international adventure travel industries has seen it's share of regional political defeats, accidents, and triumphs. For the most part, and most remarkably, the industry has organically evolved into what you see today.

This "evolution" away from the early days of the Commercial Cowboys offering extreme encounters for quick bucks and notoriety - has lead to a more modern and media savvy commercial shark diving industry guided by the "Three Tenets" adopted by forward thinking operations:

1. Commercial shark diving operations

2. Local and regional conservation efforts

3. Local and regional shark diving politics

Our industry is also under siege. Externally, by a rampant media machine that hungers for anti-shark and sensationalist shark stories, and internally, by a few misguided and abjectly ignorant shark diving operators who fail to think beyond tomorrow and into the next decade.

They are the holdovers of the Cowboy Shark Diving Era.

It is time for this to end. We, as commercial operators, are the masters of our own destiny and 2008-9 has been a bad year for industry shark media both in the mainstream press and elsewhere. What is bad for our industry is ultimately bad for sharks.

For those who have not yet come to understand how our industry has evolved we will say it again. EVOLVE - your antics are being watched, recorded, and used in ways you have never imagined to the detriment of us all and to the ultimate detriment of the very animals we make a living from.

Today another industry voice weighed in on this issue. We are glad to see industry members demanding change - hopefully these demands will not fall on deaf ears. The industry can ill afford more ongoing and negative press seen around the globe - generated by a few bad actors.

RTSea also weighed in this afternoon.

Brave or brainless? Shark swimmer's rising profile

We blogged about maverick shark diver Mark Rutzen a while ago. Now some in the media and in the blog world are beginning to ask the same questions:

Diver Mark Rutzen is increasingly making a name for himself across the globe as a man who's willing to get closer to sharks than any other.The free-diver and former fisherman, who is currently diving off the coast of South Africa with Great Whites, touches and even rides the massive predators - in the wild.

Rutzen says the key to staying alive is a matter of manners.

"You have to introduce yourself to the animal, you can't just go up to it and grab hold of it," he told News Ltd. "The biggest mistake any free-diver could make would be chasing the animal through the water."

Rutzen says he relies on experience and a "telepathic understanding" to avoid becoming a meal.

Editors Note: After reading that last statement Rutzen is beginning to sound like both Erich Ritter who once claimed he could swim with big bull sharks after slowing his heart beat down-and Tim Treadwell who claimed he could walk with Grizzlies after adopting their posture. Fact is these animals allow us access on their terms and their terms only. It is a matter of time and one fatal decision on the part of the animal that always changes this equation.

"Just because you can do a thing-does not mean you should".