Pelagic sharks (great white, tiger, mako) travel hundreds of kilometers every day and there is no certainty of crossing them.
On the reefs and in the lagoons, the chances increase because their habitats are perfectly identified.
Rubbing shoulders with such animals in complete freedom, far off the coast, is often done aboard cruise ships, designed and equipped for scuba diving.
In these five places, the diver will have the greatest chance of swimming with the sharks.
Read alsoBetween fascination and repulsion, the devouring success of “shark dives”
French Polynesia
Impossible not to come across a shark, whether you are a swimmer, freediver, beginner or experienced diver.
Polynesia offers the advantage of warm water all year round (26 to 29°C), of various depths, sandy bottoms like unfathomable deep blue.
Lemon sharks
are
familiar to Moorea.
The Tuamotu Archipelago is made up of coral atolls where “passes” connect the lagoon and the ocean.
In these passes, the
raira
, gray reef sharks
, are concentrated by the incoming current (Rangiroa, Tikehau, Fakarava, Manihi).
In January, there is a high probability of encountering its majesty
taumata roa
, the great hammerhead shark
in Rangiroa and Tikehau, while the
tapete
,
whitetip reef sharks
are seen there all year round.
The shy
tiger shark,
tore tore
in Tahitian, is random.
On the sand and lagoon side: blacktip shark, coral
shark, nurse shark.
For who ?
It is the perfect place to learn to dive in complete serenity but it also meets the requirements of the most experienced.
Find out more: diving.tahititourisme.fr
.
Cruises with Aquapolynesia (Toau, Kauehi, Aratika, Matariva atolls).
Learn more about sharks: requinsdepolynesie.com
Read alsoFrom Cuba to Polynesia, the ode to the blue planet of an apnea champion and a naturalist photographer
South Africa
In the greenish waters of South Africa, we come across about fifteen species of sharks.
Eric Le Coedic/H2O Travel
Dive sites stretch from Cape Town to Durban.
Kwazulu Natal Province is home to Protea Banks, a 6 km long and 800 m wide reef and national marine park since August 1, 2019. The powerful current of the Agulhas brings nutrients from the Mozambique Channel and the area hosts incomparable biodiversity .
The tunas that like to hunt there attract predators.
Tiger shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, bull shark, blacktip shark, bulldog shark, copper shark, dusky shark
… Aliwal Shoal is known for its concentration of
“raggie” bull sharks
between July and August.
With seven gills that make it unique, the
flatnose shark
can be seen all year round in False Bay.
For who ?
These rather sporty dives are reserved for experienced divers, even if the instructors choose areas to evolve without danger according to the strength of the currents.
Our advice:
the weather conditions can sometimes be difficult, the water more greenish than blue and the visibility precarious.
Better to know it so as not to be surprised.
Read also"In South Africa, I dived with sharks"
In the tropical Pacific
Slipping into a pod of hundreds of scalloped hammerhead sharks is every diver's dream.
Eric Le Coedic/H2O Travel
The Eastern Tropical Pacific has a marine "corridor" with UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), the Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary (Colombia), the Coiba National Park (Panama), that of Cocos Island (Costa Rica).
Four areas famous for sheltering groups of several hundred
scalloped hammerhead sharks
where divers slip in with delight.
Galápagos
sharks
(
Carcharhinus galapagens
) abound here, while the shy
fierce shark
(
Odontaspis ferox
) sometimes shows up in Malpelo.
Further north, in the Revillagigedo archipelago (Mexico), hammerhead sharks are less numerous, but the site attracts oceanic manta rays (Socorro).
Dives in the middle of nowhere, in the deepest blue, with abyssal zones.
Current management requires strict compliance with safety instructions.
The diver is equipped with a beacon, radio, whistle, mirror.
The coast is several hundred kilometers away.
For who ?
Advanced divers experienced and accustomed to drift dives.
Very long navigation times (more than 20 hours).
Our advice:
Plan to bring medicine for sinusitis and angina (air conditioners) which avoids ruining a stay!
Read alsoGalápagos: in the footsteps of Charles Darwin
In the Bahamas
Recognizable among a thousand, the silhouette of a great hammerhead shark.
Eric Le Coedic/H2O Travel
In Nassau, the technique is proven.
Descent on a sandy bottom of about fifteen meters, with a perforated metal box from which escapes a fragrant smell of fish.
The chainmail instructor feeds
the Caribbean gray sharks
(
Carcharhinus perezii
) who inevitably come to point their muzzle.
Depending on the circumstances, the instructor can caress them up to their sensory sensors called ampullae of Lorenzini.
The sharks then sink into a state of tonic immobility.
Spectacular, even if orchestrated.
In Bimini, great
hammerhead sharks
are present from December to April.
Tiger
sharks
are the regulars of Tiger beach, off Grand Bahama.
Other species observable in the archipelago:
bulldog shark, blacknose shark, nurse shark, silky shark, oceanic shark
(Cat Island, May to June).
For who ?
The "organized" dives taking place on a sandy bottom, they are accessible to levels I knowing how to control their buoyancy.
Our advice:
for those who prefer random and wild encounters, staying on the islands of Andros and Columbus while diving for the day is ideal.
Possibility also to go on a cruise.
Read alsoIn the Seychelles, Mauritius or the Bahamas... The temptation of the islands
In the Red Sea
The most inquisitive of sharks is undoubtedly the longimanus.
To be approached with respectful caution.
Jean Louis Danan
Still preserved, the sites off the Egyptian coast attract pelagics.
Unlike the other countries mentioned, these places are extremely colorful, with soft corals that shimmer in all the colors of the rainbow attracting equally golden fish.
In Egypt,
oceanic whitetip sharks
are the most impressive of the sharks, very easily approaching divers with curiosity (Elphinstone, Brothers Islands, Daedalus).
Scalloped
hammerhead sharks
live in small groups around Daedalus, while thresher
sharks
sometimes lets see its long tail at the southern tip of Big Brother where it comes to be dewormed.
In Sudan, groups of hammerhead sharks are impressive, visible in the north from January to March and in the south from April to May.
For who ?
These drift dives require experience.
They are recommended for holders of at least level II, with an experience of at least 50 dives validated on the dive log.
Our advice:
Longimanus must be approached with strict vigilance.
At the slightest lifting of the nictitating membrane that covers the eye of the shark, you must calmly get back on the boat.
Swimming and feeding on shark dive sites are strictly prohibited.
