Tahiti Sharks

[SeeTheWorld]

Would you consider some of the shark SNORKELING safe in Tahiti, look at this image I found, are there really that many sharks out there? I think these are black-tip reef sharks, but I heard there are a lot of Lemon sharks and those are quite aggressive. Are black/white tip aggressive? Edit: We might be going there, but not really sure.

Here's the picture:

 

[ppo2_diver]

My wife and I did a snorkel shark feeding when we were on Bora Bora. No problems at all. Just follow the instructions the guides give you and you'll be fine.

 

[BurBunny]

Regarding the sharks, it's fairly unusual to see the lemons, except on the feedings. My mother (whom I took last year) was VERY shark fearful due to a diving incident in the 60s. She wasn't going to go snorkeling, which she adores. By the end of the trip, she was looking forward to seeing the sharks.

You will see black tips almost every dive. They're everywhere. But they're extremely well fed and not at all interested in you. Same with the lemons. On the black tips, after the first couple dives when I got used to them being around, I started to think of them as little puppy dogs. They just did not seem that shark-like. They were more cute and ever-present - big fish with teeth but not aggressive. The lemons were definitely sharks with shark "attitude", but they cruised around and didn't come near, except at the feedings. And then they knew what they were after. If you follow the instructions, you can have really good experiences there. HIGHLY recommended.

But no, there aren't typically that many sharks around as you'd think from that photo.

Can you tell from this thread and the other I *really* liked French Polynesia?

 

[ShakaZulu]

Wow, that is incredible, nice pic.

 

[SeeTheWorld]

Regarding the sharks, it's fairly unusual to see the lemons, except on the feedings. My mother (whom I took last year) was VERY shark fearful due to a diving incident in the 60s. She wasn't going to go snorkeling, which she adores. By the end of the trip, she was looking forward to seeing the sharks.

You will see black tips almost every dive. They're everywhere. But they're extremely well fed and not at all interested in you. Same with the lemons. On the black tips, after the first couple dives when I got used to them being around, I started to think of them as little puppy dogs. They just did not seem that shark-like. They were more cute and ever-present - big fish with teeth but not aggressive. The lemons were definitely sharks with shark "attitude", but they cruised around and didn't come near, except at the feedings. And then they knew what they were after. If you follow the instructions, you can have really good experiences there. HIGHLY recommended.

But no, there aren't typically that many sharks around as you'd think from that photo.

Can you tell from this thread and the other I *really* liked French Polynesia?

Yeah I can tell, it seems like an amazing place, the water clarity is amazing, I have the full image (which I copied offline by the way) and I use it as my desktop. I think the waves in French Polynesia aren't very rough either which makes it perfect for diving and swimming in.
We'll definately look into that region, we've narrowed it down to either there or Turks and Caicos. Turks is more of a price and distance thing, but I'd prefer French Polynesia over almost anywhere.

 

[BurBunny]

Yeah I can tell, it seems like an amazing place, the water clarity is amazing, I have the full image (which I copied offline by the way) and I use it as my desktop. I think the waves in French Polynesia aren't very rough either which makes it perfect for diving and swimming in.
We'll definately look into that region, we've narrowed it down to either there or Turks and Caicos. Turks is more of a price and distance thing, but I'd prefer French Polynesia over almost anywhere.

Because much of the diving and almost all the snorkeling is done inside the lagoons (inside the reef line), waves are a very minor issue most of the time. Couple times went outside the reef and was rocking and rolling a bit, but not like I've experienced elsewhere.

Can't say anything against T&C either... going on the T&C Aggressor for a week in August

 

[jerryn]

I was in Moorea last year. We were diving outside the reef. Lots of white tip and black tip reef sharks and some lemon sharks. They are fed by the dive guides. I was not fearful of them at all.

But a caveat -- human feedings of sharks changes their natural behavior. Because the come to expect food from humans, they may behave in less predictable ways --

I have never heard of an incident in French Polynesia, but there have been some elsewhere.

Jerry

 

[globetrotter]

Just got back Thursday and I can say most sharks (lemon sharks in particular) are actually very timid; unless you have food they will often swim away from snorklers or divers. Also, since you will mostly be inside the barrier reef when snorkling sharks are not really an issue. When people ask me how I can swim with sharks I compare them to cats: curious, will follow you around at a distance and occasionaly come in for a "quick pass" to suss the situation. Check out this one I took outside the reef on Moorea:



-globetrotter

 

[robbcayman]

A General rule is to respect all sharks with that said, the top 3 dangerous sharks to watch out for are:

1) Great White (Not in Tahiti)
2) Tiger (In Tahiti)
3) Bull Shark (In Tahiti & pretty much everywhere)

The Tiger & Bull are commonly dived with, without a cage. Don't worry about sharks it's an exaggerated fear. You should fear sharks more if you are surfing or boggie boarding since you look like prey ie. turtle, seal. The Tahiti feedings are a controlled setting sharks are used to human and they want their food and it's not you.

 

[Mike Veitch]

A General rule is to respect all sharks with that said, the top 3 dangerous sharks to watch out for are:

3) Bull Shark (In Tahiti & pretty much everywhere)

The Tiger & Bull are commonly dived with, without a cage. .

Dammit, you mean after two years and almost 1500 dives in the Tuamotus i missed a commonly dived with shark like the Bull! What was i doing wrong?!?!

Never saw a Tiger either...others i worked with did on 4 occasions though...also show up on the shark feeds in Moorea and Bora Bora once in a while.

Lemons are fairly common, Tigers show up occasionaly, Great Hammers are seasonal in many of the Tuamotu atolls but certainly not common, loads of Grey Reefs, some good size Silvertips, Silkys about every now and again, Sandbar shark if extremely lucky, Blackfin (Limbatus) in the lagoons, even a whale shark once, but never ever ever ever even the hint of a Bull! Nor any of the most experienced people i know who worked there for over 15 years saw one.

Perhaps the main island of Tahiti might have them, Bulls need a source of fresh water (breeding they believe) none of that in the Tuamotus