Shark Safety:

Contrary to popular belief, sharks are not fearsome man eating monsters as depicted by Hollywood dramatizations. Tests have proven that they are very intelligent animals and they have an important function in the complex ocean ecosystem. At Sumora, we have a healthy respect for sharks and take this opportunity to advise you about some of the risks that they present.

Sharks are predators; their very survival depends on eating other creatures and they can be very unpredictable. So regardless of how many sharks one has dived with before, your first shark attack is one too many. Don’t be overconfident and always be vigilant when sharks are about.

Don’t underestimate sharks. A surprisingly high percentage of all shark attacks occur once a fish has been speared and there is blood in the water. Whenever there has been feeding activity there is the potential for formally docile sharks to become excited and attack unwary divers.
If you are being buzzed or circled by a shark maintain eye contact with the shark at all times. A shark is a bit like your neighbor’s dog, don’t threaten it, stand your ground and keep cool, and it probably won’t bite you. But start running, or screaming, or lashing out at it, and you are going to come off second best.
If you are being repeatedly harassed by a shark, even though it is small, we recommend that you get out of the water. A high percentage of problems come from sharks smaller than 8ft.
If possible get your fish on the boat as quickly as possible. A high percentage of attacks take place once fish have been speared as the struggling action excites the sharks.
If you are shore diving, do not attach speared fish to your weight belt but rather use a stringer on your float line. We have found that sometimes it helps to keep your fish in a sack or hang a spare gun on your float along with your stringer as this helps to discourage sharks from eating your catch.
Many attacks are the result of misidentifications. Avoid diving in very poor visibility, particularly around dawn and especially around dusk.
Most importantly, remember that you are diving in the shark’s natural habitat, not yours. Be respectful of this and don’t attack or provoke a shark for any reason. Regardless of how annoying they can be.
Education is important to feeling relaxed and confident in the presence of sharks.
We recommend that you read the statistics on the following site that gives unbiased facts on sharks and divers.

Below we discuss some shark facts, and also recommend that you speak to the experienced divers at your local dive club in order become more comfortable with sharks.

There is a misconception that only big sharks attack spearo’s. In actuality, this is not true. The vast majority, of shark attacks on divers actually involve smaller sharks. According to the following statistics the most common size of an attacking shark is between 5 and 8 feet, with sharks less than 10 feet accounting for approximately three quarters of all attacks.
While it is true that in the majority, some 53%, of all incidents the divers did not see the shark that attacked them, it is equally true that divers saw the other 47%! Of these attacks, about 65% of the sharks made at least one close pass near the diver prior to the attack, which doubly enforces our advice to always keep your eyes on sharks regardless of how small they are. This is particularly true of Tiger Sharks, where there have been numerous incidents of the shark circling the diver, almost stalking in an attempt to get behind the diver, prior to an attack. Therefore, it is crucial to keep your eyes on these sharks on the way back to the boat.
There is a misconception that most shark attacks are fatal. This is not the case, of the 309 unprovoked attacks on divers, only 18% of them were fatal. This is not to make light of the fact that sharks can be a threat, but enforces the data that most of the shark attacks are from smaller sharks (or a result of misidentification). Another major contributing factor to this statistic is that in about a third of all cases, some 31.9%, the diver is actually not bitten, but is merely bumped. A further 42% of all diver attack victims are only bitten once. Having said that, on average the majority of divers that are bitten, require over 100 stitches!

At Sumora, diving safely is important. Please review the following safety sections carefully before using Sumora dive gear: