cetacean
Contributor
Cocos vs. Malpelo vs. Galapagos
Many divers ask which offers the best diving with sharks, the answer will always be "it depends" (although I prefer Cocos over either of the other two). I've been to Malpelo, Cocos (2x) and Galapagos (2x). Having had the chance to talk to (and read some of the research done by) researchers working in each of these areas there have been some interesting findings.
Some interesting tidbits:
1. Many of the hammerheads are on a "super highway" that extends around all 3 areas. Tagged hammers have been tracked in all 3 locations (mostly females). They just started tagging a couple of the whalesharks that have shown up at Cocos - there is an expectation they follow a similar pattern (with potentially even more variation/wanderings).
2. At Cocos (and Galapagos) the hammerheads are almost always below the thermocline (they prefer cooler water). If the thermocline is "deep" then you won't get a chance to dive w/the sharks. Sometimes at Cocos you may not see the hammers at Manuelita Outside - it's not because they aren't there, it's because they are "deep" (like deeper at Alcyone). The seasons play a role as well. Diving in the sub (on the Argos) and witnessing a hammerhead flyby at ~600ft (when they weren't visible at all at Manuelita) provides an interesting contrast.
3. The number of hammerheads at Cocos is almost exacly inversely proportional to the number of tiger sharks present in the Manuelita Channel. One of the researchers has suggested they have witnessed this before on the odd occasion when orcas would show up at Cocos (the hammerheads "disappear").
4. There are sand tiger sharks (deep) at both Cocos and Malpelo. Interestingly, the few that have been tagged don't seem to migrate. As an aside - a somewhat easy way to observe these sharks at Cocos is via the sub on one of their 300ft dives. At Malpelo you can occasionally see one around the 80ft-100ft depth (usually still below you).
Many divers ask which offers the best diving with sharks, the answer will always be "it depends" (although I prefer Cocos over either of the other two). I've been to Malpelo, Cocos (2x) and Galapagos (2x). Having had the chance to talk to (and read some of the research done by) researchers working in each of these areas there have been some interesting findings.
Some interesting tidbits:
1. Many of the hammerheads are on a "super highway" that extends around all 3 areas. Tagged hammers have been tracked in all 3 locations (mostly females). They just started tagging a couple of the whalesharks that have shown up at Cocos - there is an expectation they follow a similar pattern (with potentially even more variation/wanderings).
2. At Cocos (and Galapagos) the hammerheads are almost always below the thermocline (they prefer cooler water). If the thermocline is "deep" then you won't get a chance to dive w/the sharks. Sometimes at Cocos you may not see the hammers at Manuelita Outside - it's not because they aren't there, it's because they are "deep" (like deeper at Alcyone). The seasons play a role as well. Diving in the sub (on the Argos) and witnessing a hammerhead flyby at ~600ft (when they weren't visible at all at Manuelita) provides an interesting contrast.
3. The number of hammerheads at Cocos is almost exacly inversely proportional to the number of tiger sharks present in the Manuelita Channel. One of the researchers has suggested they have witnessed this before on the odd occasion when orcas would show up at Cocos (the hammerheads "disappear").
4. There are sand tiger sharks (deep) at both Cocos and Malpelo. Interestingly, the few that have been tagged don't seem to migrate. As an aside - a somewhat easy way to observe these sharks at Cocos is via the sub on one of their 300ft dives. At Malpelo you can occasionally see one around the 80ft-100ft depth (usually still below you).
