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Getting chummy

The Florida Aquarium's exhibit puts divers close to sharks to help conquer fear.

By TERRY TOMALIN, Times Outdoors Editor
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 19, 2002

[Times photo: Bill Serne] Shannon Cornwell, dive interpreter at the Florida Aquarium, watches a shark cruise past in the interactive exhibit.

TAMPA -- Standing above the shark tank, watching a dozen fish with big teeth swim a few feet below, a voice inside me said not to go.

The primordial fear of sharks cannot be denied. You must face it, even embrace it, if you want to play in their world.

Surfers know this. Scuba divers, too.

Sharks are the bullies of the playground. Be ready to fork over your lunch money, or you may never eat again.

"Just don't jump in on top of one," Casey Coy said. "It might turn around and bite you."

The stars of the Florida Aquarium's new exhibit, Sharks! From Fear to Fascination, would not be called maneaters, although any one could tear off a nice chunk of flesh if it wanted to.

Nurse sharks are like big catfish; they seldom bother people unless they happen to be unlucky enough to stick an arm into a hole where one is hiding.

Blacktips have a nasty reputation because they sometimes mistake a surfer's hand or foot for a mullet. But in the clear water of this oversized tank, they shouldn't present a problem.

The sand tiger, with its mouthful of caninelike incisors, looks fierce. These sharks have a bad reputation in Australia, but that probably is because of confusion with other species.

[Times photo: Bill Serne] Shannon Cornwell watches sand tiger sharks circle inside the tank at the exhibit, designed to lessen many people's fears of sharks.

"They are all pretty harmless," said Coy, the aquarium's dive coordinator, "or we wouldn't let you in here."

Sharks are a lot like dogs. People might be more cautious with a pit bull than a poodle, but even Fifi could deliver a nasty bite if someone messes with her food.

The whole idea of the exhibit, which opened in March, is to dispel the myths most people have about the oceanic predators.

In two shows a day, aquarium visitors watch divers interact with the dreaded sharks. The divers start out in a cage but soon swim freely in the tank, which is 65 feet by 35 feet and 13 feet deep.

"It is really pretty safe," Coy said. "We have never had a problem."

He did, however, have one word of caution.

"Watch out for the turtle. The sharks won't bite you, but that thing will."

The green sea turtle, which once was fed by hand, likes divers -- feet, toes, fingers, you name it. So whenever anybody is working in the tank a safety diver must go along to keep an eye on the shelled marauder.

With one eye on the turtle, which already had taken a chunk out of a flipper, and one eye on a sand tiger swimming a few feet away, I slipped beneath the surface. It took a few seconds to get my bearings, but once I did it became apparent the sharks thought I was just part of the exhibit.

Coy dropped to the gravel floor, PVC pipe in hand to ward off the turtle, and settled down for what he hoped would be another uneventful dive. I joined Coy on the bottom and hoped the sharks, particularly the sand tigers, would grow curious and come closer for a better look.

The nurse sharks headed off to their own little corner. The blacktips kept to the upper half of the water column, and the sand tigers swam where they pleased.

A few minutes into the dive, the photographer's camera jammed. I watched as he ascended, thinking if somebody was going to be hit, it would happen now. But he made it to the surface, leaving me alone on the bottom.

The minutes dragged on, and I settled in for a long wait. After a while I started to lose interest and began looking through the gravel for shark teeth, which fall out from time to time.

[Times photo: Bill Serne] Times outdoor editor Terry Tomalin goes face-to-face with a green moray eel 13 feet beneath the surface of the shark exhibit.

Intent on my task, I forgot about the sharks around me. Then I looked up and saw a wide-eyed boy of 8 or 9 staring at me through the glass. I raised my hand to wave, and when I did it brushed the side of a 6-foot sand tiger swimming about 2 feet in front of my face.

Because I was watching the shark so intently, I didn't see the sea turtle as it came in for a sneak attack. The turtle went straight for my earlobe but I fought it off, vowing never again to let down my guard.

The sand tiger, meanwhile, kept moving in a wide, lazy circle, oblivious to my presence. I have seen these animals adopt an aggressive posture before -- fins flared, back hunched -- but these sharks were as mellow as cows.

But as Coy had stressed before we entered the water, sharks are unpredictable. And while most shark attacks are cases of mistaken identity, sharks still must be treated with respect.

The exhibit may help dispel fears many Floridians have about these much-maligned predators. Out of the 350 or so species of sharks, only a dozen or so can be considered dangerous to humans. But all it takes is one bite, even one little nip, to cause a lifetime of nightmares.

"That was something," I told Coy as we surfaced. "I'll never look at sea turtles the same way as long as I live."

Sharks! From fear to fascination

• WHAT: Human/shark interactive show.
• WHEN: Noon and 3 p.m.
• WHERE: Florida Aquarium, 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa.
• INFO: Call (813) 273-4000 or visit www.flaquarium.org.

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