Diver Attacked in Flordia

**Scuba Mama** · 02-25-2008, 08:52 PM

Man Dies After Shark Attack Off Florida
By Associated Press
12:23 PM CST, February 25, 2008
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Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Reprints Post comment Text size: MIAMI - A diver has died after being bitten by a shark off the coast of Florida.

The Coast Guard says the man died Monday at a hospital in Miami.

A Coast Guard statement said the victim was attacked while he was diving off a commercial boat about 50 miles east of Fort Lauderdale.

The shark involved in Sunday's attack got away before anyone could identify the species.

Coast Guard officials said the man was 50 years old but they did not give his identity.

Just caught this off the news wire. They said he diving off a commerical boat but not clear if it was a dive boat. Condolences to the divers family.
I found this story rare that a diver was the victim. In my 8 years of diving this is only the second story I have read involving a diver. The story is not clear if it is a scuba diver or free diver.

Scuba Mama

**MgicTwnger** · 02-25-2008, 10:00 PM

This was in the Miami Herald:

The man who died in Miami after a shark bite Sunday is a lawyer from Vienna, according to the Austrian counsel general in Miami.

Markus Groh, 49, died at Jackson Memorial Hospital Sunday, hours after a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter brought him there, counsel general Karlick Arthur said.

The ship Groh was diving from, Shear Water, is registered to Jim Abernethy of Scuba Adventures from Riviera Beach. A spokeswoman at the company's dockside office declined to comment Monday. A dockmaster said the company might release a statement later Monday.

The blue boat remained docked in the Intracoastal Monday with scuba tanks and wetsuits still on deck.

The U.S. Coast Guard received a mayday call from someone aboard the 70-foot diving boat about 10 a.m. Sunday. A helicopter crew hoisted Groh out of the water near the Bahamas and flew him to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead Monday.

Austrian media reported a shark bit Groh in the leg, but local authorities say they are still investigating. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's office determined Groh's death to be accidental, but more details were not available Monday.

Investigators also are trying to determine what type of shark bit the man.

Abernethy's website advertises shark-diving excursions to find hammerheads, tiger, lemon, bull and other sharks. The divers go down without cages, attracting the sharks to them with fish chum, according to the website.

Abernethy's clients include photographers, filmmakers, marine biologists and shark enthusiasts.

He blogged earlier this month about a diving trip with guests from Germany and Austria:

''The Hammerheads arrived within minutes every day,'' Abernethy wrote. ``The water was clear and the sharks were plentiful.''

Abernethy's company has been cautioned by the Bahamas Diving Association to use more care on its shark excursions.

The group, of which Abernethy is not a member, sent Abernethy and other dive operators a cease-and-desist letter last year asking them to stop diving for sharks in open water without cages.

''For close to 30 years, we've been recommending certain guidelines, which have allowed hundreds of thousands of people to dive safely,'' said Neal Watson, president of the Bahamas Diving Association. ``Abernethy would not use a cage and this is the result. It's total negligence.

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It does not sound like this guy is running a very safe operation.

**glynneco** · 02-25-2008, 11:12 PM

What a shame. These events raise a lot of questions. Typically shark attacks on divers involve someone spearfishing. If they were chumming was a divemaster in the water with them ? Directing them? Was there a briefing b4 the dive? What were they told to do? What were they told to expect?
I DO play graba** with sand tigers in NC. But I have become a student of their behavior and avoid any that aren't acting typically. But if you're diving with multiple species in chummed water in a strange area for the first time. Caution! I'd still like to know more about the dive operation.

Ally · 02-27-2008, 06:25 PM

Quote:

MIAMI -- Doctors confirmed on Wednesday that a shark attack victim who died this week bled to death from his injuries.

Officials said Austrian tourist Markus Groh was on a cage-less shark expedition Sunday morning when he was bitten in Bahamian waters about 50 miles off Fort Lauderdale's coast.

The Coast Guard sent a helicopter to the scene, which hoisted Groh from the boat and flew him to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where authorities said he died Monday.

Groh was on a boat chartered by Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures.

According to Abernethy's Web site, the crew lures sharks to their boats by throwing fish parts in the water while divers swim without a cage.

http://www.nbc6.net/news/15425251/detail.html

**dalehall** · 02-28-2008, 01:39 PM

I have a guy here at work that has dived with that Operation. Abernathy didn't own it at the time. He said they had a great time on the boat and it was a nice week out.. He said they didn't chum the water back then, but it was a spearfishing/lobster liveaboard, so when they cleaned the fish and stuff to eat, the rest over the side. They did see a lot of sharks, but he said it didn't seem as dangerous back then as it's sounding in the media today.. I guess it really depends on the spin the media wants to put on it.. But, then again, when Government Agencies are asking you to change your tactics, there might be something wrong with them.

**Scuba Mama** · 02-29-2008, 04:06 PM

It amazes me how fast some stories can get around. I was doing a new class introduction and one of the new to be divers asked me what I knew about the shark attack and the guy dying in Florida. I informed him of the facts to clear up and myths he may have about sharks.

Scuba Mama

Ally · 03-09-2008, 07:54 PM

Quote:

The recent death of an Australian diver during a shark feeding tour in The Bahamas has prompted the Marine Safety Group (MSG) to call on The Bahamas government to ban such excursions. According to a spokesperson for this Florida-based marine conservation group, such tours also pose a threat to island visitors not involved in these expeditions. In a written release, Bob Dimond, president of the Marine Safety Group, said, "Once a shark learns to associate boat arrivals and/or people in the water with dinnertime, those associations are remembered for a long time and taken with the shark wherever it may wander - a recipe for disaster." Visit www.marinesafetygroup.org.

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/tr...ategoryId=2968

**Scuba Mama** · 03-10-2008, 03:43 PM

It will still take the government acting on the information to prevent shark feedings. Groups will point out that as many shark feeding that happen around the world there are fews deaths from the activity and no more dangerous then doing other high risk sports. Some how I don't think this will cause the banning of the feeding trips in the Bahamas. Personally, I would like to see an end to feedings.