Hooked on Sharks

Swimming with sharks. That is physician Lewis Kohl's idea of a good time, when he can get away from his emergency room in Brooklyn, New York. More accurately, he scuba dives in tropical waters to photograph his favorite subject.

"Many of my friends consider me abnormal," says Kohl, chairman of the department of emergency medicine at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn. "I get a charge when people look at my photos and think I'm a little out there."

Kohl started scuba diving in 1977 and began exploring underwater photography in 1986. For his first four or five years, he was pretty bad, he says. "Everything in my photos looked blue and far away."

Then 10 years ago, in Bonaire in the Caribbean, he took an underwater photography class. Two years later he went on an organized dive off Freeport, Grand Bahama, where staff attracted sharks by feeding them. "Sharks were going by me like a freight train," Kohl says. "I became really obsessed with getting shark photos."

He has since traveled to many locations, including Northern Sulawesi in Indonesia and Papua-New Guinea, with his diving partner and wife, Melissa, also an emergency room physician.

The best place for shark diving, according to Kohl, is Cocos Island off Costa Rica. "These islands are mountains jutting up out of deep water," he says. Nutrient-filled water rises from the deep, and swarms of sharks (hammerheads, gray reefs, white-tips, silkies, and Galapagos) surround the islands. The Galapagos Islands are next on Kohl's list of great shark diving destinations.

Kohl feels safe when photographing the predators. "When you're behind the camera, you become so absorbed you're not really thinking about it," he explains. Overall, sharks tend to ignore him. And, he says, "When people get too close, they swim away."

And despite their reputations, the large ones are not man-eaters. "They are like the chickens of the sea," says Kohl. He has seen 12-foot hammerheads disappear the second they hear him take a breath from his tank.

"But you are dealing with wild animals, so it has the potential for danger," he adds. "Shark feeders get bitten on occasion. But fortunately, [we] aren't their natural prey."

He has, however, been warned away by sharks' body language. He has seen them straighten their pectoral fins and arch their back as a sign that he has crossed into their territory. "It's time to exit right away," he says.

On one occasion, Kohl surprised a shark. To get a picture of the shy hammerheads, he had hidden himself behind a rock as a group approached. Kohl even held his breath, popping out to snap his shot as the fish swam by. "The shark has its mouth open like it's saying 'Ah!' I scared it to death. This isn't most people's image of a big shark."

Kohl has never been bitten by a shark or treated any shark wounds. So, what does he make of the shark attacks off the coast of Florida and in the Caribbean this past summer? In 2000, 79 unprovoked attacks occurred worldwide, according to the International Shark Attack File in Gainesville, Florida.

Part of the problem may be due to the depletion of sharks' natural food sources because humans are over-fishing. If they do not have their natural prey, sharks look for other food sources.

"If you're going to see an attack, it's likely going to be a bull shark," he adds.

This species likes to feed in shallow water, can swim up into rivers, and do not fear much. The number of attacks over the summer is most likely due to a coincidence, he says, as well as to the high numbers of people swimming in ocean waters at that time of year.

One of Kohl's biggest concerns is the depletion of some types of sharks such as the sandbar and dusky, which are harvested just for their fins (used in some Asian soups) and for their cartilage (used in diet supplements). Sharks are generally slow to reproduce, and some do not breed until they are older.

His dream is to photograph a great white shark, the world's largest species, which some scientists consider endangered. "I want to do this before there aren't any great whites left."

Tips for Staying Safe in Shark Waters

Stay out of the water:

• If sharks are present.

• During darkness or twilight, when sharks are most active.

• If it is contaminated by effluents or sewage.

• If sport or commercial fishers use it, especially if bait fish are around or feeding activity is happening. (Diving seabirds are good indicators of such action.)

• If bleeding from an open wound or if menstruating because a shark's sense of smell is acute.

• If you see porpoises, since they often eat the same food items.

Other hints:

Remain with a group in the water because sharks are more likely to attack a solitary individual.

Do not wander too far from shore because this isolates you, placing you far from assistance.

Refrain from excess splashing and do not allow pets in the water because of their erratic movements.

Be cautious in the spaces between sandbars or near steep drop-offs, since sharks like them as hangouts.

Do not wear shiny jewelry; sharks have a competitive sensory advantage and the light reflected from the sun resembles the sheen of fish scales.

Use extra caution when waters are murky.

Avoid uneven tanning and bright colored clothing because sharks see contrast particularly well.

Get out of the water, when sharks are sighted!

Do not harass a shark, if you see one!

(Adapted from information used with permission from International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum of Natural History)

Play smart. Reduce your risk of becoming a statistic.

Discuss This Article

Find a Job

Things To Do

About the Author

Heather Lindsey

Link to This Article