Shark cage diving is

underwater diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving (disambiguation), diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meani ...

or snorkeling where the observer remains inside a protective cage designed to prevent sharks from making contact with the divers. Shark cage diving is used for scientific observation, underwater cinematography, and as a tourist activity. Sharks may be attracted to the vicinity of the cage by the use of bait in a procedure known as ''chumming''. This procedure has attracted controversy due to claims that it could potentially alter the natural behaviour of sharks in the vicinity of swimmers. Similar cages are also used as a protective measure for divers working in waters where potentially dangerous shark species are present. In this application, the shark-proof cage may be used as a refuge, or as a diving stage during descent and ascent, particularly during staged decompression where the divers may be vulnerable while constrained to a specific depth in mid-water for several minutes. In other applications, a mobile cage may be carried by the diver while harvesting organisms such as

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen language, Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any small to very large marine life, marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Haliotidae, which once contained six genera but now cont ...

Shark-proof cage

A shark-proof cage is a metal cage used by an underwater diver, to observe dangerous types of

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

s up close or to harvest seafood in relative safety. Of the various

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of shark, those most commonly observed from a cage are the

great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocea ...

and the bull shark, which are both known to be aggressive at times. The shark-proof cage is also used in the controversial exercise of shark baiting, where tourists are lowered in a cage while the tour guides bait the water to attract sharks or stimulate certain behavior."Maui not biting on toxic shark feeder bait"
Cyber Diver News Network. July 10, 2009

Early development

Shark cages were first developed by

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the ...

. Cousteau used a shark cage when producing '' The Silent World'', released in 1956. Australian recreational diver and shark-attack survivor Rodney Fox helped develop a shark-observation cage in the late 1960s. Fox's first design was inspired by a visit to a zoo he made after surviving a near-fatal shark attack in 1963. Filmmaker Peter Gimbel was involved in the design of a shark-proof cage for the production of '' Blue Water, White Death'' (1971).

Self-propelled version

In 1974, after several reported shark attacks on working divers in Australia, Australian

diver James "Jim" Ellis developed a self-propelled cage to protect abalone divers from sharks, which he patented in 1975."Patent 4166462"
www.patentstorm.us Mounting the motor in

gimbal A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...

s in the front of the cage makes the vehicle highly maneuverable. Movement and speed are controlled with a "joystick". The design allowed abalone divers to work without becoming vulnerable to attack. Due to the propulsion system, the divers would exert themselves less and, therefore, might be able to collect molluscs for longer periods. The patent abstract details a self-propelled cage with at least one access opening and a mounting frame that carries both an air motor and a

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

. Buoyant material is attached to the frame so that the cage may be made neutrally buoyant. The diver can control warm water piped to the diver's suit in cold environments. Propulsion was later changed to hydraulics supplied from the boat through the diver's umbilical. The patent expired in 1996, although Ellis continued to make improvements. A 1975 version of the cage was acquired by the Australian National Maritime Museum in 1988.

Tourism

During the 2000s, shark cage diving became more popular as a tourist activity. In South Australia, tourists are taken by boat from

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...

to the Neptune Islands in the southern Spencer Gulf, where they view great white sharks either from a cage tethered to the back of a boat near the surface or from a cage lowered to the seabed. The government considers the activity to be one of South Australia's "iconic nature-based tourism experiences", which supports 70 jobs and contributes over $11 million to the state's economy.

Shark baiting

Shark baiting is a procedure where the water is baited by ''chumming'' with fish or other materials attractive to sharks. Tourists remain inside a shark-proof cage while tour guides bait the waters to attract sharks for the tourists to observe. There have been claims that this could lead to potentially aggressive behavior by the shark population. Some conservation groups, scuba divers, and underwater photographers consider the practice undesirable and potentially dangerous. In South Australia, abalone divers have been attacked by great white sharks, and divers believe that shark cage diving tourism has altered shark behavior, including making them more inclined to approach boats. The government of South Australia claims that there is "no scientific evidence" to suggest that the general public is at elevated risk of shark attack as a result of shark cage tourism. Opponents of the cage diving industry, such as shark attack survivor Craig Bovim, who was reportedly bitten by a ragged-tooth shark while snorkeling for lobster off Scarborough Beach. Since the attack occurred near where shark cage boats operate, Bovim alleged that the chumming used to lure sharks to the tourist cages altered the natural behaviour of the sharks. There is evidence that the baiting of sharks for tourism does alter the patterns of movement of great white sharks.

Notable incidents

In 2005, a British tourist, Mark Currie, was exposed to a high risk of injury or death when a

bit through the bars of a shark cage being used during a recreational shark dive off the coast of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The shark circled the boat several times, and began to attack the side of the cage, then started to crush and bite through. The captain attempted to free the cage by trying to distract the shark, hitting it on the head with an iron pole. The shark bit into one of the buoys at the top of the cage, which caused the cage to begin sinking. Currie quickly swam out of the top of the cage and was pulled to safety by the boat's captain, who fended off the shark with blows to its head. In 2007, a commercial shark cage was destroyed off the coast of Guadalupe Island after a great white shark became entangled and tore the cage apart in a frantic effort to free itself. Another incident reported in 2016 occurred off the coast of Mexico, when a shark that lunged for the bait broke into the cage and the diver was able to escape uninjured.

Shark-proof cage

Early development

Self-propelled version

Tourism

Shark baiting

Notable incidents

See also

References

Further reading