Jupiter Shark Diving Recommendations

[ScubaJeffy]

Hi All,
Myself and a buddy will be down in the Fort Lauderdale area for a week Nov 7 - 14, thinking about heading up to Jupiter on the 8th or 10th for a Shark Dive Charter, there seems to be a number of operations there, wondering if anyone has any recommendations thanks

 

[edwants2dive]

Personally I won't do the dives that feed them so that eliminates Emerald charters. I am going with JDC this weekend myself. There is also Kyalami charters.

 

[drrich2]

Been awhile, but I've been twice; one a general Jupiter dive trip with Jupiter Dive Center, and one a dedicated shark feeding dive trip with Emerald Charters. Really enjoyed both trips, but they were very different.

Jupiter 2014 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-diving/491927-jupiter-trip-report-9-7-14-9-11-14-a.html
Emerald Charters Trip Report 2017 - Trip Report - Emerald Dive Charters Trip Report

The latter report also summarizes a lot of the shark feed diving controversy; many people are opposed, some of us are okay with it (remaining open minded to reconsider in light of future evidence should it develop).

The feeds more reliably bring sharks in, bring them in closer, and may give you better photo op.s, particularly for some species.

Shark diving in Jupiter is seasonal for some species and I don't recall off-hand which species go with what seasons. I timed my Emerald Charters trip to coincide with tiger shark availability...and they delivered.

 

[nippurmagnum]

+1 for the Emerald

 

[tekkydiver]

For many years it was considered unusual to see a shark, now we see them on most dives. They will swim by and move on, on occasion there will be an over curious critter that stays around until it wears out its welcome. No need to bait or feed sharks to see them in south Florida.... That is a recipe for trouble.....sooner or later

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Hi All,
Myself and a buddy will be down in the Fort Lauderdale area for a week Nov 7 - 14, thinking about heading up to Jupiter on the 8th or 10th for a Shark Dive Charter, there seems to be a number of operations there, wondering if anyone has any recommendations thanks

As some have stated, it depends on what you're up for. If you're not crazy about a baited encounter, there are ops like JDC and Kyalami that will go to the same stretch of water and you may see at least some of the same species cruising by. The lemons may get close without bait, but most of the other species will probably not come in. If you're up for a baited dive there are three or four ops that do it - Emerald and Salty Divers in Jupiter being the most consistent with daily three-tank dives, Calypso down in Riviera Beach doing two- or three-tank dives (three-tankers seem to only be on weekdays) according to how many book, and then I think Pirate's Paradise in Riviera Beach does them occasionally.

I haven't been out in a few months, but November is typically a quiet season and the weather can be iffy - the summer assemblage of silkys, sandbars, and duskys move out as fall starts, bulls are probably on the Deep Ledge and the lemons will usually still be camped out on the wrecks. Outside chance of seeing a great hammerhead, but the odds aren't as good as diving in the first half of the year. That said, some around here claim we seem to have a chance of whale sharks popping up in November and in the right mood I'd make a small wager one of our regular tiger sharks might make a couple appearances in November/December.

Generally speaking Jupiter is just a good place to go out and see what you can find; it's a high-traffic area for passing marine life in the Gulf Stream. These days I'm less interested in the everyday residents than the "right place, right time" moments.

 

[mike41799]

I have done both both SCUBA and Snorkel trips with Emerald and Shark Addicts out of Jupiter and Calypso out of Riviera Beach(they all go to the same area)
I recommend all of them, I have a handful of videos on my YouTube if you wanna check them out

 

[nolatom]

Been awhile, but I've been twice; one a general Jupiter dive trip with Jupiter Dive Center, and one a dedicated shark feeding dive trip with Emerald Charters. Really enjoyed both trips, but they were very different.

Jupiter 2014 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-diving/491927-jupiter-trip-report-9-7-14-9-11-14-a.html
Emerald Charters Trip Report 2017 - Trip Report - Emerald Dive Charters Trip Report

The latter report also summarizes a lot of the shark feed diving controversy; many people are opposed, some of us are okay with it (remaining open minded to reconsider in light of future evidence should it develop).

The feeds more reliably bring sharks in, bring them in closer, and may give you better photo op.s, particularly for some species.

Shark diving in Jupiter is seasonal for some species and I don't recall off-hand which species go with what seasons. I timed my Emerald Charters trip to coincide with tiger shark availability...and they delivered.

February for Lemon Sharks. JDC drops you near, DM tells you to level out at 70 and stay quiet, bottom is 90, and the Lemons pass beneath you at 80. Then a few circled around (I guess, or maybe there were a new group), and did the same pass at 80. Wonderful experience.