Shark tourism
People can get close to the sharks by free- or scuba diving or by entering the water in a protective cage for more aggressive species.
Many of these dives are done by private companies and are often baited to ensure shark sightings, a practice which is highly controversial and under review in many areas.
He was the sole worldwide operator until the South African industry was founded in early 1989 by Pieter van der Walt who was joined shortly thereafter by pioneer diver and underwater photographer George Askew who handled promotions and put South African cage diving "on the map" with the publicity he got – until they split in January 1992, after they, together with famous Australian divers Ron Taylor and Valerie Taylor, did the world's first dive amongst great white sharks without a cage and completely unprotected.
When operators around the world became aware that the great white was quite approachable and not likely to attack they considered whether the other sharks with bad reputations like tigers, bulls and oceanics' might be safe enough to swim with too.
Isla Guadalupe, Mexico, has been named a Biosphere Reserve in an effort to control the shark diving activities there.
In the Philippines snorkelers must maintain a distance of four feet from the sharks and there is a fine and possible jail time for anyone who touches the animals.
Although a huge commercial success, there is growing concern for the implementation of regulation and protection for the whale sharks and its marine environment.
[citation needed][dubious – discuss] Often sharks do not pay much attention to the divers, but in rare cases when there are threatening times the operator uses his/her training skills to prevent an attack from occurring.
Similar cages are also used purely as a protective measure for divers working in waters where potentially dangerous shark species are known to be present.
(season duration) expenditure WS excursions 2007, unpublished dataa [11][clarification needed] Whale sharks are considered a vulnerable species, and in certain areas such as Ningaloo Marine Park, they are entirely protected.
[14] Shark tourism is positively impacting the lives of many, as companies are not only making money for themselves and the community, but many profits benefit reef conservation efforts.
[15] In Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the states of Hawaii and Florida shark feeding is prohibited.
[18] The shark tourism industry is meant to educate and increase awareness of the natural environment as well as generate profits for the local people.
In addition, only one tour vessel is allowed to travel to the whale sharks while the rest must stay 250 meters away.
Only ten swimmers are allowed in the water at a time, which controls the crowding of the area, and tourists are prohibited from feeding or touching the whale sharks.
Native Hawaiians were not pleased with this at first due to the fact that the companies were luring in the sharks using bait; they viewed these animals as sacred and feeding them for entertainment was said to be unjust.
For this reason, a law was passed in Hawaii in 2002 that banned the feeding of sharks in state waters, which is about three miles off shore.
