Reasons Why Shark Feeding in the Cayman Islands is Not Allowed

Many thrill seekers over the years have greatly enjoyed shark feeding in the Cayman Islands, although shark feeding in the Cayman Islands or anywhere is not just dangerous to the divers who feed them. Shark feeding in the Cayman Islands has many long-term side effects not only to the local and tourist population but also to the eco system. There are 2 sides to every story and 2 sets of statics to consider, if a person enjoys taking the risk of shark feeding in the Cayman Islands is it not only their risk to take, there are other risks to consider. Most of these divers who go shark feeding in the Cayman Islands sign waivers and completely understand the risk they are taking. According to H2O magazine, they estimate that over 100,000 divers participate in shark feedings each year.

The argument for shark feeding in the Cayman Islands or anywhere else is a broad and controversy subject in itself. One example of this is according to the Davison Ben, (2000, October) one of the arguments for shark feeding with more than a million dives there are still no fatality's, although this does not equally share all the injuries, or injuries that led to death that are caused from shark feeding. Also according to an article by Allard E.T. (2009) a pro shark feeding activist, states that more tourists die each year from sexually transmitted diseases and food poisoning, than shark attacks. The article also states that people sign a waiver releasing liability so they understand the risk.

The argument against shark feeding in the Cayman Islands is a simple one that is loaded with multiple facts. For example, the main argument for not allowing divers to participate in shark feeding in the Cayman Islands is that it puts other diver's and swimmers at risk by luring sharks to one area. In addition, when they go shark feeding in the Cayman Islands, shark feeding throws off the eco system by moving sharks into an area they would not normally be in and that alone leads to more shark attacks. The problem with the argument in regards to shark feeding in the Cayman Islands or anywhere else is they are fighting multimillion-dollar businesses with shark feeding statics and facts, which often times does not work against money.

The argument that no one has died while shark feeding in the Cayman Islands, or more people die for food poisoning is not a fact-based argument. While it is true that there were only 59 unprovoked shark attacks in the U.S. 2008 and food poisoning leads to 5,000 deaths in the United States each year this still does not equate to the issues with shark feeding in the Cayman Islands. The problem with the argument is over 3 hundred million people in the US eat multiple times a day, making the comparison to shark feeding a mute point. For example if 300 million people went swimming in areas where shark feeding in the Cayman Islands is allowed, then how many people would then be attacked. If out of 100,000 divers that go shark feeding only 59 were injured that would translate to approximately 177,000 being injured if the whole population in the U.S. went shark feeding. Of course, that number cannot be proven it is just a comparison scale.

Shark feeding in the Cayman Islands is illegal for many good reasons. Shark feeding in the Cayman Islands has been banned since 2002. Among other reasons why shark feeding was banned, another one is due to the guides who are feeding the sharks are putting other less trained divers at great risk. There is no positive effect for shark feeding in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere, unless for scientific studies. There is also no proof on either side that shark feeding actually damages sharks, although if we look at partially tamed animals that have been fed food by humans and then released back into the wild, often times they die when released , because of the lack of hunting skills.

Allard, E. (2009, September 19). Oahu set to ban shark feeding. Retrieved October 24, 2009, from http://www.cdnn.info/news/eco/e090919.html

Davison, B. (2000, October 20). To Feed or Not to Feed: the Dive Industry Wins Round One. Retrieved October 24, 2009, from http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu//fish/sharks/innews/SharkFeed.htm