1. On sharks. Most of the time sharks ignore you or leave the area. The
exception is gray reef sharks in the tropics. These sharks are very
territorial. When you enter their territory they will get threatening. The
thing to do then is just leave when show an interest in you. If you dive in
the western Pacific or Polynesia it is worth getting Dick Johnson's book
The Sharks of Tahiti. He knows more about the behavior of gray reef sharks
than anyone else (I believe that he did his Phd dissertation on the
subject). This book describes the threatening behavior. It is very obvious.
I have only encountered it once in all of my years of diving in the Pacific.

2.  Of course I am assuming that you follow my main rule on sharks. DON'T
LOOK LIKE SHARK FOOD. This means don't dive where there are Great White
Sharks or what are known as white pointers. The them we look like sick sea
lion and that spelts dinner to these sharks.

3.  Sculpting are the eastern pacific relative of the stone fish. They are
a lot more obvious in the water and luckily not quite as venomous. If I am
poking around in weed beds I do my initial poking with an abalone iron just
to flush the sculpins. You are right they can hurt. Luckily I cannot
confirm the pain myself since I have been very careful and don't go after
fish anymore.

Terry

At 06:53 PM 9/19/1999 , ferreter wrote in flowing prose:
>Terry two questions
>1st , you said "That is just about the only way you can get bitten while
>diving." I guess this doesn't include SHARKS, :)))
>2nd are sculpin fish about the same as stonefish??? caught one by accident
>and it got me in the finger with it's dorsal spines , it felt like it was
>being crushed in a vise then after about 5 minutes it felt like it was being
>crushed in a red hot vise, I think it was the closest I'll get to birthing
>pain.
>ferreter
>  ,
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Terry S. Arnold <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>Date: Sunday, September 19, 1999 5:31 PM
>Subject: Re: Off Topic
>
>
> >When collecting shells on coral reefs in the tropics you also have to think
> >about the marine equivalent of rattle snakes. These are stone fish. Many of
> >these are camouflaged to look just like dead coral. I have learned to fan
> >"dead" coral before I touch it. Quite a number of times the "dead" coral
> >moved when I did that. For those of you that are not familiar with them,
> >stone fish are usually small (<4") and have venomous spines in their dorsal
> >and pectoral fins. A sting from them is nasty at best and can be fatal to
> >some people. Remember to look before you grab a piece of coral.
> >
> >Some people worry about sea snakes. Yes they are rather venomous (10X a
> >cobra by some reports), but they dot not bother people. The biggest problem
> >is that sometimes one will follow you around and stick its head under rocks
> >as you turn them. It can be a bit disconcerting at first, but when you
> >realize that they are just looking for food and are basically curious you
> >get used to it. Remember not to stick your fingers in their mouth. That is
> >just about the only way you can get bitten while diving.
> >
> >Regards
> >
> >Terry
> >Terry S. Arnold 2975 B Street San Diego, CA 92102 USA
> >[log in to unmask] (619) 235-8181 (voice) (619) 235-0016 (fax)
> >

Terry S. Arnold 2975 B Street San Diego, CA 92102 USA
[log in to unmask] (619) 235-8181 (voice) (619) 235-0016 (fax)