Dive with Sharks

[four9erfan]

This summer I was hoping to dive with sharks (without a cage). I was wondering if anyone knows of a good spot.

 

[battles2a5]

North Carolina coast, Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, Galapagos, Tobago.... the list goes on and on. What kind of sharks are you looking for?

 

[robint]

This summer I was hoping to dive with sharks (without a cage). I was wondering if anyone knows of a good spot.

diving with sharks is possible lots of places as mentioned. What type of diving are you talking about? Do you just want to see sharks? Do you want to see a shark feed? Do you want to be surrounded by schools of sharks? How much do you want to spend? Liveaboard in Caribbean? Pacific?

I have videos of diving I have done with sharks in Bahamas and Palau:
Nekton to Cay Sal Bank Bahamas, june 2006


Eco Explorer in Palau, dec 2007


something like this?


robin
2 months until back on the Nekton to Bahamas!

 

[jimisparks]

PNG, Father's islands.

 

[Alex777]

One of the less expensive places to go for shark diving would be Roatan. They are not available in the Cayman Is.

 

[four9erfan]

diving with sharks is possible lots of places as mentioned. What type of diving are you talking about? Do you just want to see sharks? Do you want to see a shark feed? Do you want to be surrounded by schools of sharks? How much do you want to spend? Liveaboard in Caribbean? Pacific?

I have videos of diving I have done with sharks in Bahamas and Palau:
Nekton to Cay Sal Bank Bahamas, june 2006


Eco Explorer in Palau, dec 2007


something like this?


robin
2 months until back on the Nekton to Bahamas!

I'd like to do the dive out somewhere in the Caribbean. I don't want to be part of a large group. As of right now, cost isn't a big factor.

I like your videos, and that's basicaly what I'm looking to do. Currently there is no particular shark that I'm wanting to dive with.

 

[robint]

I'd like to do the dive out somewhere in the Caribbean. I don't want to be part of a large group. As of right now, cost isn't a big factor.

I like your videos, and that's basicaly what I'm looking to do. Currently there is no particular shark that I'm wanting to dive with.

Thanks!

In the Caribbean:
You are probably too late to book a trip with the dive boat from Florida Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures: Diving Palm Beach and the Bahamas They do trips specifically to chum and photograph sharks over in the Bahamas. Check their website for shark trips availability. It is a liveaboard.
edit: Looks like they have spaces available in Sept only.
JASA: Bahamas Live-Aboard Rates and Availability

You can do the Cay Sal Bank liveaboard trip on the Nekton this summer. Nekton Diving Cruises - Comfort, Stability, Worldclass Diving Great trip. Good diving and sharks almost every day, sometimes they do a shark feed but not always (we had one on an afternoon at Big Hole). We had numerous shark encounters during the week. Some came pretty close, very curious, just checking us out.

Other liveaboards in Bahamas have shark encounters also.

Stuart Cove's in Bahamas (land-based) does shark feeds - we have heard good and bad things about them, don't know personally. The Bahamas have lots of sharks and you can possibly see them on any dive.

Roatan does have a shark feed from what I have been told. Other than that I don't think you will see sharks.
Some dive ops in Belize do a nurse shark encounter where they grab and hold the sharks. I personally don't like that.

I love sharks, too. If you really want to see them in their natural habitat I would do a liveaboard in the Bahamas.

robin
2 months til we are back in Bahamas on the Nekton!

 

[battles2a5]

As I mentioned in my first post, the NC coast is packed w/ sharks during the summer. Most sand tigers but you'll see sand bar and nurse sharks as well. Keep in mind that these are all "natural" shark encounters. No chumming, no conditioned sharks, no kneeling in the sand while a handler feeds them, just free swimming sharks.

Here's one of mine (horrible res):
YouTube - NC Diving- Rosin Wreck

Here's a good one from one the DM's off of Wilmington (hope you don't mind Pat):
YouTube - Sand Tiger Sharks on the Hyde

 

[diver 85]

One of the less expensive places to go for shark diving would be Roatan. They are not available in the Cayman Is.

Agree...to the OP, do a search on youtube for Cara a Cara(means face to face in Spanish)....The 2 Italians will do you right .............

 

[peterbj7]

Some dive ops in Belize do a nurse shark encounter where they grab and hold the sharks. I personally don't like that

"Grab" isn't really right. These nurse sharks love to be handled and they nuzzle divers. The more you touch and stroke them the more they come back for more. I was with guests and maybe 20-30 nurse sharks yesterday, and often a shark would try to push in if it thought another shark was getting too much attention! The sharks are NOT abused.

We rarely see other sharks here though they are around and do sometimes appear. I've seen hammerheads, silky, bull, Caribbean reef, tiger, mako, but not often. You'll probably see more bull and reef if you go to the Blue Hole. There are hammerheads in the BH, but I've never known them come shallower than about 250', so you won't see them. You can quite often see bull sharks inside the lagoon at dusk and early night, swimming around the dock legs.

Up here in north Belize we rarely see whale sharks, but one swam between me and my boat yesterday morning when I was just about to board! Wonderful experience.

What I really dislike and regard as dangerous in both the short and long terms is formal shark feeding, such as you are recommending in your post. To me it's irresponsible and stupid, and even if no-one is hurt at the time the sharks' behaviour is changed so they lose their fear of man, leading to risky encounters later on. Far from promoting this I would like to see it banned. There has been a lot of talk about this on another thread here, about a shark attack that (I believe) ended tragically.