Shark Bait: Yay Or Nay?

Using chum to allow divers to get up close with sharks will always be controversial, but do the benefits of the practice outweigh any possible downsides?

- Brook Peterson

In recent years, debate on the subject of baiting the water to attract sharks has been on the rise. Many people feel that this practice may be harmful for both humans and sharks while others insist that it is necessary to help preserve the shark population.

A study published in July 2013 in Marine Policy reported that approximately 100 million sharks are killed by humans each year. This number is unsustainable and the consequences of the prolonging of this practice could be substantial to our marine ecosystems. It is reasonable to assume that most of us should have a vested interest in the preservation of the ocean’s top predator, as our own ecosystems are intertwined with the health of the ocean. But how we go about bringing awareness about the need to preserve shark populations remains a matter of controversy.

Arguments against baiting the water for sharks include the belief that sharks may become accustomed to associating humans with food. This could harm innocent swimmers or divers because more sharks may be in the area where food is frequently dispensed. In fact, this belief does have some truth in it. Ralph Collier, who heads the “Global Shark Attack File”, reported that in the short term, there may be some correlation between shark feeding and shark bites. Indeed, some areas such as Hawaii, Florida, and the Cayman Islands outlaw shark feeding.

Some argue that baiting undermines shark conservation efforts because sharks that become habituated to receiving food from humans are instead caught by fishermen taking advantage of easy prey. Others claim that operations that use bait to attract sharks for their customers are exploiting the shark population for the monetary value in tourism.