Shark Diving

Ever considered shark diving? Think it's a crazy for suggestion? Shark diving usually starts off as just regular diving, which is a fantastic activity in itself. From there, divers looking for that elusive adrenalin rush will then sometimes turn to shark diving. It frequently turns into an obsession rather quickly. It is filled with majestical moments beyond your wildest imagination. It is also not nearly as dangerous as it sounds. Of over 400 known species of sharks, over a handful of species have been involved in shark attacks and sharks are responsible for only 1-4 deaths a year, which is pretty remarkable when you consider all of the hours people log swimming, surfing and diving in shark infested waters. Still not sure about diving into this truly wild activity? Read on...

I am constantly reading about the various types of sharks, their behaviours and their habitats and am consistently amazed. A few interesting facts: did you know that sharks have been around 400 million years? That’s amazing when you consider the average species is only around 5 million years. Also, did you know that sharks vary in length from 8 inches (20 cm) - the deepwater dogfish shark to over 60 feet (20 m) - the whale shark? When I’m not diving with sharks, I spend many glorious hours reading about them and where to dive with them. One book I enjoyed is Shark Life, by Peter Benchley, the writer of JAWS.

Shark diving leads me to travel to new places that I might not otherwise have visited had it not been for the chance of a shark encounter and I enjoy discovering these places almost as much as the shark diving itself. Finding the best places for a shark encounter, especially a certain species of shark frequently involves going to specific often remote locations. It was the possibility of diving with a whale shark that brought me to Utila, Honduras, a charming little island. We got really lucky and saw two on our first day! I have never felt so small in my life! I also many memorable experiences both diving and non-diving in Utila which I would not have had if it had not been for the chance of a whale shark encounter. Similarly I was lured by the schools of hundreds of hammerhead sharks at Cocos Island, Costa Rica, the largest uninhabited island 300 miles off the coast of Costa Rica. Not only did I see the legendary schools of sharks in which I had come for, but I also spent time on the island itself and was wowed by over 90 species of birds and 200 waterfalls. After Cocos I was lured by the Galapagos to dive the legendary Wolf and Darwin Island which are considered among the best shark diving sites on the planet. Rumour had it that there were even more sharks there than at Cocos. I found this hard to believe so had to find out for myself. Turns out the rumours were true. We saw hundreds of hammerhead sharks and four whale sharks on two dives. I still can't believe a place like this exists on earth.

As there are so many different species of sharks, you can choose the shark encounter to match your preferred adrenalin rush. First time shark diving? Consider diving with docile nurse sharks which spend much of their day lying on the ocean floor. You will be amazed at how calm you feel swimming among them. A perfect first shark encounter.Feeling more adventurous? Try diving with white tip sharks, which are a smallish non-aggressive but more active shark. Ready for the big league? Try bull sharks or tiger sharks which on very rare occasion are known to attack, but also provide an incredibly rewarding experience. I have dived with bull sharks and it was an out of body experience to be swimming peacefully beside a shark which is known for occasional aggressive behaviour. I never thought that diving with bull sharks would be relaxing, but in that moment I felt at one with nature and incredible grateful for this awe-inspiring opportunity.

I have learned so many things from shark diving that this topic could be an article in itself. Among the most powerful:

-The first step is usually the hardest – Right before I jump into shark infested waters my heart starts beating rapidly, I feel faint. I am terrified and wondering why on earth someone would voluntarily jump into shark infested waters. Moments later in the water, I am in a state of bliss, at one with the sharks. Isn’t this true for real life as well? How long do we think about doing something, terrified? Then when we actually take that first step, we realize it wasn’t as hard as we thought it would be and that we should have done it a long time ago.

-Don’t judge a book by its cover – If we believed everything ever reported about sharks and shark attacks, we would believe they were killing machines who sought out humans as their dinner, which isn’t true. In fact, when you spend some time with them, you realize that not only are they pretty cool, but that you actually enjoy hanging out with them and feel privileged to have a shark encounter. This is true outside of the water as well with people we meet. 

Shark diving tourism brings in a lot of $$$ for local economies and is a sustainable development strategy that is favourable to short term development strategies such as overfishing. Participating in an initiative that promotes long-term sustainable development and a win-win for people and sharks simply feels good. Furthermore, there are shark diving trips (see links below) that allow you to participate in shark research, benefiting sharks even further.  

 There are few things that bring me as much happiness as shark diving.   I have currently had the privilege of diving with 9 different species of sharks but am actively seeking ways to increase this number.  I now plan vacations around shark diving trips and know this is true of a lot of avid shark divers.   Shark diving is an adrenalin producing but at the same time relaxing sport which has to be experienced not explained.  Are you ready to dive in?