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Chapter 29 — 1
MARINE
Chapter 29
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DANGEROUS MARINE
ANIMALS
There are many marine animals which are dangerous to eat, to be eaten by, or to touch. The
diver who is content to observe or photograph the creatures of this undersea environment will
rarely have his safety threatened by them. Of necessity, this chapter is an oversimplification,
with many significant omissions. The photographs are copied from
Dangerous Marine
Creatures
, by Carl Edmonds.
SHARKS
Although encounters with sharks are commonplace in diving, shark attacks on skin and scuba
divers are not common. Many of the attacks recorded have been associated with spearfishing
or shell harvesting, situations in which vibrations and chemicals given off by the wounded
marine animal are likely to attract sharks.
In a large proportion of attacks on divers the victim was unaware of the presence of the shark
until he was actually bitten. Several behaviour patterns preceding shark attacks have been
documented. In some cases the
shark circles
the victim and occasionally bumps him
(presumably to gain some sensory information about the nature of this unfamiliar but
potential food source), before attacking.
In many tropical species,
sharks may exhibit a threat display (agonistic)
, apparently in
response to a territorial invasion by the diver. This is characterised by the shark swimming
with an irregular jerking motion, accompanied by an arched back, head up and pectoral fins