Jill Reeves and Skylar Whitney knew that when they applied to work at the Albuquerque Aquarium, they would swim alongside 17 sharks, along with various fish, turtles and stingrays, every day.
An Albuquerque native, Whitney said he never pictured himself swimming in a display tank to feed and clean the animals.
"They were looking for help and needed an aquariamist position filled, and they were having a hard time finding someone," Whitney said. "I never thought I would be working with sharks. It's completely different than what I thought it would be, but I love it."
Whitney said that when he gets into the tank, he feeds the animals and cleans the exhibit.
"We don't touch them, not unless they're getting a little too close for comfort, and then we'll just shove a food bucket at them and get them away," Whitney said.
The largest shark in the tank is almost seven feet long, Whitney said.
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Reeves said she has been diving since 2005 and has explored the waters while studying abroad.
"Part of my study abroad took place just north of Boston, and then three months were in Tahiti, and then three months were in California," Reeves said. "I was doing a lot of research when I was abroad, because we were studying the three ecosystems."
Reeves said she has swum with sharks but that they have all been ocean dives.
"The first time was out in the ocean - and that was freaky because there was a swarm of them and me," Reeves said. "It was just blue looking up, blue looking down. You couldn't see anything. That was a little terrifying, but it kind of got me over that."
Reeves and Whitney said people's nervousness over sharks comes from a handful of horror stories involving the most hostile of species.
"People just assume that they are way more of an aggressive animal because what you hear about are great whites," Reeves said. "The four species we have in there could care less."
Whitney said people often ask him if the sharks are aggressive.
"I've never really had a fear of sharks, because the experience I had was just watching other people dive with them so I kind of already had knowledge of what to do," Whitney said.
Sharks are not the only marine creatures in the tank with a bad reputation. The stingrays have been more antagonized because of Steve Irwin's death, Reeves said.
"People seem way more interested in why we feed them, why we dive anywhere near them," Reeves said. "That's the one that really gets people going now, is when people see us hand-feeding them."
Reeves said there are other aquariums in the country that allow guest divers to get into the tank with the sharks, if they have the proper certification.
"I don't think this aquarium can (have guest divers) due to insurance policies," Reeves said. "Georgia has a program where you can dive with whale sharks, and Disney World has an aquarium and you can dive there."
Reeves said the sharks are regularly fed and not in search of food.
"To them, you are just another diver in the water," Reeves said. "Their food is also about the size of a foot, so they're not going to mistake any of us for food when their food is so much smaller."
Samantha Logan, who was at the aquarium Wednesday, watched Reeves and Whitney clean and feed the animals. She said she likes to visit the aquarium.
"It brings me into a younger state when I'm here, and sometimes I think I appreciate this more than the kids," Logan said. "I would definitely go underwater scuba diving. I think more people need to come and appreciate the things that are here."
The Aquarium has regular programs open to the public, such as a Valentine's Day special on how animals attract mates. They are also hosting an aquarium overnight on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. The overnight costs $25 per person and registration is required. To register, call 848-7180.
