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Bad Idea Travel: Unprotected Swimming with Sharks

An Austrian tourist died on Monday after a shark attack in the waters between Fort Lauderdale and the Bahamas. Markus Groh was out on a shark-spotting trip with Scuba Adventures, which sails seven-day live-aboard cruises out of Riviera Beach, Florida.

Unlike some tour operators, Scuba Adventures doesn't send its divers under in a cage. The outfit's website says:

We regularly encounter tiger sharks from 6-18 feet in length. The giant of the tropical shark world, this awesome predator will sometimes cruise past in bulky silhouette, approaching the baits with fearless purpose, an exhilarating experience!

To insure the best results we will be "chumming" the water with fish and fish parts. Consequently, there will be food in the water at the same time as the divers.

Though the company says it has crew in the water "to insure diver safety," it's apparently going to take a fatality to remind them that there's no stopping a wild shark from doing whatever it wants.

Related Stories:
· Diver in Chummed Waters Dies After Shark Bite [AP, via CNN]
· Scuba Adventures [Official Site]
· Killer Beaches of 2007 [Jaunted]
· Shark Attack Travel: Mexico's Hungry Great Whites [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ben McLeod]