Commercial and recreational divers are calling on those practicing chumming at the popular Shark Junction dive site to stop the activity immediately, as it could not only result in killing the reefs but more dangerously, a shark attack.
Chumming is the practice of tossing food into the water to attract fish.
Shark Junction is one of the signature dive sites located on the south coast of Grand Bahama near Port Lucaya.
Certified diver Gregory Paton-Ash, who has been swimming in Shark Junction for over two decades, said that he is very concerned about the practice.
“I was out with my son and daughter-in-law at the Shark Junction site preparing to go into the water,” Paton-Ash recalled.
He said he witnessed someone chumming and saw sharks coming up to the surface.
He added that as a regular diver, he is familiar with the sharks’ usual behavior at the site.
“They are very docile,” he said.
“You can dive, swim, and just keep an eye on them to make sure where they are. However, during this incident, there were a lot more sharks than usual and they were in a frenzy … very agitated.”
Paton-Ash said there were other divers from Sunn Odyssey Divers in the water at the time. They left and so did he and his family. But an hour later, he returned to Shark Junction to try again.
“We did another dive an hour later because it is an hour between dives,” he said.
“We decided to dive the same spot thinking by this time it would be OK, but when we went down, there were a lot more sharks, and they were a lot more aggressive.
“I actually got bumped by a shark.”
He said they swam away from the area, finally completed their dive, and left.
“We haven’t had a shark attack on the island for a long time and with all the new development taking place, we don’t need to have a shark attack with a visitor on a scuba diving adventure,” he said.
“I am really concerned what the impact would be if we have an attack. We must do something about this before there is an incident.”
Grand Bahama News reached out to noted dive professional Cristina Zenato, who has been diving with sharks for over 30 years.
She explained the difference between chumming and controlled shark feeding.
“I have been conducting shark dives with food in a container for 29 years, but it’s done on the bottom,” she said.
“The diver hands the food to the sharks and the sharks come to that specific diver who has the food.
“When you talk about chumming, is usually refers to just throwing the fish in the water without any control. The reason we need to have some differences is because in that area, sharks have been entertained by divers for over 30 years and there has never been an issue.”
Zenato said she always teaches divers, “You must be able to control the food, to control the sharks. When you lose control of the food, then there is a risk of losing control of the sharks.”
Noting that while she was not aware of a chumming incident at Shark Junction, Zenato said the site is frequented by multiple people participating in various activities.
“The sharks in general are not aggressive, and even when you do the chumming, they just compete against each other,” she said.
“However, they might be having heightened energy when a diver jumps in the water because to them, it is the same effect when tossing food in the water. It’s the splash that attracts the shark.
“And so, for a regular diver to have a have a dozen or so sharks super agitated around might not be comfortable.
“So, if there is chumming in that area, I would say it is not the best place for that kind of activity.”
Owners of Sunn Odyssey Divers Karen and Nick Rolle, who operate dive experiences at Shark Junction, worry that chumming , if continued uncontrolled, can become a danger.
“So, something must be done!”
