Where is a good place to dive with sharks?

Question

I'm in the UK and about to take my PADI advanced qualification. I really love sharks and want to get in the water with them (the real thing, not foot-longs or great whites that are nigh-on tame).

Where is a good place to go? I have heard South Africa is best for great white shark diving, and Oz for white tips....these are great and I am quite willing to go that far, but is there anywhere less well publicised? What about a bit closer to home (although this isn't much of an issue)?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Stuart's Cove in the Bahamas for bull sharks and other Caribbean reef species.

Fish Rock Cave in New South Wales for sand tiger/grey nurse/raggedtooth (all names for the same species) sharks (or there's a couple of aquariums in the UK where you can do try-dives with them).

Julian Rocks, Byron Bay (NSW) for leopard sharks and wobbegongs (carpet sharks).

Galapagos Islands or Cocos Islands for hammerheads (they can also be found on liveaboard safaris at the south end of the Egyptian Red Sea, but not in such large numbers, I believe).

Ningaloo Reef for whale sharks (only in migration season).

The North Sea and elsewhere around the British coast for basking sharks (if you're lucky).

One thing to keep in mind though (beware, rant follows): if you still want to be able to see sharks anywhere in the world in about 20 years' time, then I would suggest you start writing letters to the governments of those countries (mainly third world, but Spain also) involved in the shark finning industry.

Sharks are being fished in their millions, their fins hacked off, and their still-twitching bodies thrown back in order to feed the (mainly East Asian) demand for sharkfin (which is mainly just cartilage, with virtually no nutritional value or even flavour). It's as destructive and pointless as shooting elephants just to cut off their tusks, except that this hunt is sanctioned by governments.

Most species of sharks mature and breed slowly, with adult females producing one pup every year or so. The fishery is therefore totally unsustainable, because the sharks are being caught faster than they can reproduce. Sharks are the ocean's top predators and scavengers, culling out diseased and weakened fish, and cleaning up the bodies before they start decaying. Without sharks, whole ecosystems start stagnating.

As well as writing letters and signing any online petitions you come across, you should also boycott any supermarkets or restaurants (both at home and when you go holiday) which sell or serve shark or sharkfin products, and explain to the owner why you're not giving him your money.

Only lack of consumer demand will lead to the demise of this ridiculous industry.

Answer 2

For Tiger sharks the best place i've ever dived was in Pago Pago American Samoa, although the vis is about 2 inches. For Hammerheads I saw some in East Pacifc on several islands, and Penrhyn has Black tipped sharks, but be warned these are dangerous sorts and have attacked on several occasions(as in these individuals I have no idea about the species).

Some one told me that a place in Cornwall does shark diving trips but I don't know how true that is.

Oh and be warned nigh on tame does not mean safe. Some times the opposite.

Answer 3

Go to Hurghada, (Egypt).  The Red Sea is a great place to dive and see them.  About 50 - 60 miles off shore.

Answer 4

There's a place in Chester, UK http://sharkdives.blueplanetaquarium.com...

Also in San Diego, California i heard about and i think it's great white's, go to www.divingwithsharks.com