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Many people felt the movie "Jaws" gave sharks an unjustified reputation as a man eater. Some intrepid people, believing otherwise, just dive into a shark tank to counter that unsavory reputation. Dr. Christopher Sova fits into both categories.
Dr. Sova, a chiropractor with offices in Norwalk and Stamford, has been treating patients with orthopedic issues for more than 11 years. But he's been in and around water for a lot longer than that. Having spent childhood summers on the beach in Brick Township, New Jersey, Sova began fishing when he was old enough to hold a fishing pole. And he was interested in all things aquatic: "I was always fascinated by the different species we caught in our crab traps. I was so excited to check the cages and see what new animal I could bring up from the bottom of the lagoon." As he got older he moved into snorkeling, whose current eventually led to SCUBA-ing.
Because he loved the ocean and because he'd seen "Jaws" sharks intrigued Sova. He started doing some intensive reading about them. "Most attacks are a case of mistaken identity," he says, adding: "A person's chance of getting attacked by a shark is one in 11.5 million, and a person's chance of getting killed by a shark is less than one in 264.1 million."
The odds being squarely on his side, he joined a program at the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium, which calls a "wonderful gem" for Connecticut. "It has many dedicated people whose mission is to protect and preserve the Long Island Sound and educate 150,000 school children and 500,000 visitors every year" about maritime life.
He dives with the sharks every Thursday in the Open Ocean exhibit, while visitors view the activity through the tank's windows. Visitors can communicate with the divers and ask them questions while they're in the tank. He says the sharks are not dangerous, but they are interested in the divers. They come fairly close, says Sova, but he adds: "They're just curious and are not interested in having us as a hot lunch."
Although he had trepidations about his first dive into the tank with sharks he quickly realized the animals "are to be understood and respected but not feared." They are, he says, not the man-eating creatures we see in the movies. He firmly believes "the more information people have about sharks, the better off the sharks will be."
But knowledge in general, says Sova, can never hurt. "I have patients who get a lot of misinformation from the Internet and are afraid to go to their doctor because they think of a worst-case scenario, and most of the time it's not. It's kind of like being afraid of the shark tank."
There is more to be understood, he says, than there is to be feared. Just like the sharks with which he swims each week.
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