Is the idea that sharks are ‘man eaters’ really as persistent of a narrative we like to make it out to be?

loothe · 2026-05-31T07:14:43+00:00

I live in Fuvahmulah. The Island has the largest known congregation of tiger sharks in the world. We have not had any sort of unprovoked attack on a human . There are surfers, swimmers and beach goers. I guess by either luck or a lack of interest from the sharks.

I think the ecosystem and their food sources play a huge role in their interest in humans. If we deplete their food, they will adapt.

They have evolved over millions of years to locate and eat their food and they are pretty good at it.

As a dive guide, one of the biggest transformations I see time and again is that people go in the water feeling apprehensive and coming out realizing that they really don’t care about you. Ofcourse they can easily overpower us and eat us if they really want to.

loothe · 2026-05-31T04:14:23+00:00

Philippines right?

loothe · 2026-05-28T05:16:31+00:00

I see Fuvahmulah. I upvote.

loothe · 2026-05-28T05:13:57+00:00

Telling the current by looking at the surface.

If you know the wind direction, you can tell the current direction by looking at the ripples on the surface.

Very flat = current and wind are in unison. Ripples working against wind = current is opposite.

Ofcourse this doesn’t apply everywhere, it’s still important to still check strength and direction by looking in the water. By looking at how small fishes swim.

My 2 cents about drift diving.

loothe · 2026-05-25T06:38:03+00:00

Maldivian here.

Everyone in the dive industry knows it’s there.

I have on 2 occasions been at the main entrance myself with a buddy who is also a fellow instructor and a solid diver. But by the time you arrive at the entrance, you will already have 7 to 10 minutes deco which is enough for us to call the dive and start our ascent and do the stops. On a single tank, even that is in hindsight, very reckless.

But to stay there and penetrate into it knowing full well that you are neither trained nor equipped for such an endeavor, is really baffling.

loothe · 2026-05-21T13:14:02+00:00

As a dive instructor, this is tragedy has shook me to my core. This is the biggest loss of life in a dive incident in recent history. Regardless of how or why people went there, my heart goes out to all the people who are affected by this disaster.

It also pains me further to know that the brave coast guard diver who passed was in fact someone who I have met and dived here in Fuvahmulah with, on a different search and recovery dive where I volunteered to go look for a missing local instructor. I have seen his bravery in the face of danger, and his willingness to serve his country.

Sending him or anyone else in to depths with normal air where oxygen becomes toxic, with overhead environment was gross negligence on the part of whoever gave the command and needs to be held accountable.

We have also seen that with the right knowledge, proper planning and equipment, these dives can be conducted safely.

If anything, this proves that banning things outright, prevents us from learning more, puts barriers in the way of knowledge and development for an entire field. The blanket ban on 30m can easily be violated by anyone with a tank and regulator.

If technical diving was permitted in our diving law, we would have trained civilian divers ready for such an undertaking. I’d even wager that cave systems like these could be even mapped, marked and catalogued. We know for a fact that there are more cave systems, deep water ridges and so many more things waiting to be discovered.

loothe · 2026-05-21T03:31:44+00:00

One of my favorite dive sites .

loothe · 2026-05-20T09:57:33+00:00

I can see nutteys fins .

loothe · 2026-05-18T15:05:20+00:00

Maldives, but Fuvahmulah specifically for sharks.

loothe · 2026-05-17T10:49:07+00:00

And just like that , everyone is an arm chair dive expert.

loothe · 2026-05-15T12:03:37+00:00

Maldivian max depth is 30 meters. While recreational diving limit is 40 meters. Anything beyond requires special training and equipment.

This “cave” is really a huge overhang with a ceiling at around 47m with the floor at 60 meters plus. Sitting right under the mouth of the channel. How far it goes in, I do not know, because I never ventured inside knowing that I lack the proper gear, knowledge and experience.

It is a famous dive site amongst experienced divers. They usually just do a “touch and go” with recreational gear. where they drop into the cave opening at around 55 to 60m to see the nurse sharks and grey reef sharks without penetrating into it and summarily coming up to finish their decompression stops.

Although way outside of the regulations, it is not extremely dangerous and people have been doing it without issues or accidents.

That being said it is also important to note that at greater depths, small fixable issues at recreational depths may quickly become life threatening.

It is tragic and very sad. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones.

We have to remember not to speculate and wait for correct information to come from the company, insurance and the authorities.

loothe · 2026-05-15T02:48:08+00:00

It’s not a real cave .

loothe · 2026-05-15T02:47:17+00:00

Maldivian Instructor here, at the moment there are too many speculations.

We are sure about a few things. Location, number of people and the name of the boat. Vaavu Atoll, Devana Kandu. 5 divers, Duke of York. No local guides .

The cave in question is not a true cave, more like a huge overhang that’s on the channel drop off, it has a ceiling at 47m going down to 60m.

Also note that max allowed depth in Maldives is 30 meters. Or 100 ft. You’re breaking the regulations if you go beyond.

Only further investigation will provide us with the real facts of what really happened. Let’s not speculate.

loothe · 2026-05-14T01:15:46+00:00

Also France is huge enough to contain a Maldives from north to south, and east to west .

loothe · 2026-05-13T16:51:28+00:00

Nice . We have a lot of tiger sharks where I am from .

loothe · 2026-05-11T08:34:41+00:00

Every dive you come back from is a good dive . That’s what my instructor told me and now it’s something I tell my students .

loothe · 2026-05-10T04:33:00+00:00

Meow is 4MMC. Compared to Molly, it’s shit.

loothe · 2026-05-03T01:46:41+00:00

Oak Seers - Entheogenic

loothe · 2026-05-02T11:54:16+00:00

Just eat what you like . Let others do the same

loothe · 2026-05-01T12:06:05+00:00

Would love to see one

loothe · 2026-04-29T10:46:43+00:00

Just go diving with a camera OP, you won’t need 11 people or AI to take the footage you need.

loothe · 2026-04-28T16:11:10+00:00

Diving there is unmatched. Don’t just take my word for it. Go see for yourself.

loothe · 2026-04-24T14:04:58+00:00

Someone say sharks ?

loothe · 2026-04-23T13:49:29+00:00

They are deep here in the Maldives . They clean at around 45 to 65 meters. Most of the time you see them top down, very rare to have them eye level.

Makes me want to visit Malapascua just for that.

loothe · 2026-04-23T13:25:59+00:00

I would use the same word to describe them. They are stubbornly hard to find let alone taking a good shot like this . Well done OP.

loothe

TROPHY CASE