National Geographic is reporting on this amazing photo of a shark taken in Mossel Bay, South Africa, by 26-year-old art teacher, amateur diver, and photographer Amanda Brewer while working at eco-tourism company White Shark Africa.
From her description:
This photo of a female Great White Shark was taken with a GoPro hero 3+ Silver from a cage in the water off of Seal Island, Mossel Bay, South Africa. White Shark Africa is an eco-tourism company promoting shark conservation.
Amanda uploaded it to the Your Shot online photo community, apparently causing an intense debate on using bait like this in cage diving, reports National Geographic:
Ricardo Lacombe posted on the White Shark Interest Group Facebook page: “Bait usage is fine in my book as an attractant, but dragging it at the cage like this is asking for trouble for the shark. So disappointed this shot is getting so much coverage … but a chance to try and educate people I guess.”
Responding to the criticism, Brewer told Grind TV that White Shark Africa never pulls bait into or even directly toward cages.
“The person was pulling the bait around and out of the way of the cage [to Brewer’s right] so that shark wouldn’t go near the cage at all,” she said. “That’s one thing that we learned right off the bat, is that you never want the shark to make contact with the cage.”
Whatever the debate is, Amanda’s photo is truly awesome — and it will give nightmares for as long as I live.