No, sharks did not kill Russian diver in Batangas – group

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Sharks have more to fear from humans, says Arnel Yaptinchay of Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Don’t blame the sharks, conservation group Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines said in light of news attributing the death last week of a Russian diver in Verde Island Passage in Batangas province to a “shark attack.”

“[T]he word attack is not even the proper term because the sharks were feeding on carcass already,” Arnel Yaptinchay, executive director of Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines, told Rappler. “They were not attacking [a] live human.”

Yaptinchay, who is also a veterinarian, said sharks usually prey on weaker marine mammals, and humans are not “preferred” prey because they are not intrinsic to the marine environment. Humans are not a natural part of sharks’ diet.

“If you have a school of fish, with some sick, that’s what they usually eat,” Yaptinchay added. “Or if there is an injured animal which is bleeding or thrashing in the water — those are usually the signals for them.”

Sharks are instead described as opportunistic feeders. Not all species are top predators.

On February 27, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) retrieved the lifeless bodies two Russian divers Ilya Perigudin, 29, and Maksim Melekhov, 39.

Fellow divers found Melekhov unconscious in the vicinity waters off Pulong Bato in Isla Verde, Batangas. He was declared dead on arrival at St. Patrick’s Hospital. Perigudin’s body, meanwhile, was found near the shoreline with “both arms missing due to an apparent shark attack,” the PCG’s report said.

“Multiple sharks were observed in the vicinity during the recovery,” according to the PCG.

Later, PCG Southern Tagalog Lieutenant Junior Grade Dawn Baterbonia said in a news report on Sunday, March 2, that the cause of death of Peregudin was asphysxia or oxygen deprivation.

Deluna Dive Center, which is responsible for deploying the diving activity of the Russians, said in a statement that “the cause of divers’ deaths was not related to the shark attack.”

The dive center, which is certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, said the second dive that day which included the Russians “encountered a sudden and powerful downward current.”

While the guide and two other divers survived, Peregudin and Melekhov “were swept away beyond visibility to a significant depth.”

“The second diver, Ilya Peregudin, was discovered later at approximately 18:00 local time by a coast guard vessel. He was already deceased, and his body had suffered severe post-mortem injuries due to a shark attack. His dive gear was missing, seemingly torn off, with the harness straps likely bitten through by sharks,” the dive center’s statement read.

Negative portrayal of sharks

Yaptinchay’s conservation group is concerned that the negative portrayal of sharks in the recent incident may affect efforts at conservation.

“We don’t want people hating sharks because of the incident. We actually, they need a lot of help conservation-wise because a lot of their populations are in a decline because of fishery,” said Yaptinchay.

Instead, it should actually be the other way around. Sharks should fear humans more.

Experts found in a 2021 study that one-third of sharks and rays species are threatened with extinction due to humans’ overfishing. Humans use sharks for consumption, medicine, aquarium use, research, fuel, and fashion.

This threat is exacerbated by problems of loss of habitat, climate change, and pollution, the study noted. Philippine waters are home to around 200 species of sharks and rays. – Rappler.com

Quotes translated to English for brevity.