Bucket list: diving with sharks
For photojournalist Markus Roth, author of this
feature on Fiji, Fiji is an ideal choice for divers set
on a shark encounter. Many locations draw good
numbers of sharks, especially the channel off Gau
Island. Channels attract compact masses of fish
set on scoping out what nutrients are on offer
and unsurprisingly, that brings in sharks in turn.
There are also a good number at sites within the
Namena Reserve, mostly hanging around at the
drop-off, cruising the walls for prey.
“Shark diving is something special,” he says. “I
could watch them for hours. Their elegance, how
they cruise against the current with seemingly
zero effort. The way they check you out too. They
get used to you after a while and come closer
and closer. I always get goosebumps when they
are close enough that I can see them directly
checking me out.”
“I like to see them ‘naturally’. Around
Gau a bait box was used on our second dive
in the channel, but they didn’t hand feed.
This is still acceptable for me. Almost the
same number of sharks were around during
the first dive, but this kind of baiting brings
them closer to you. They like the smell of the
bait, which consists of two or three fish heads
in a box.”
Besides the number of locations where sharks
are commonly sighted, there is Beqa Lagoon, to
the south of Viti Levu. Here the sharks are part
of a ‘show’ in effect, hand-fed by staff to provide
close-up photo opportunities for divers who
watch from designated areas.
Reef sharks are common visitors here but so
is one of the most dangerous of all sharks: the bull
shark. Often even the odd tiger shark, one of the
top ocean predators, growing up to five metres in
length, comes by.
“I have some mixed emotions regarding
the way shark dives are executed over there,”
says Roth. “I really appreciate what the guys are
doing, especially regarding conservation. I ́m ahuge fan of bringing local communities in the
tourist sector and letting them do the maths.
Attracting tourists for these shark dives brings
way more benefit than catching the sharks and
selling their fins.
“What I really don ́t like that much regarding
hand feeding is that some divers might forget
that these huge, strong sharks – especially tiger
and bull sharks – are apex predators. Those
feeders are not giving a dachshund a tiny bone.
Of course, human beings are not on their menu,
but sharks are wild animals. You wouldn ́t go too
close to a lion that is being hand fed with meat.
In my opinion, that loss of natural respect might
become dangerous very fast.”
Not everyone feels this way however and the
allure of diving with such impressive creatures
while they are feeding attracts increasing
numbers of divers to Beqa every year. To find out
more about the dive and the shark protection it
supports, see http://fijisharkdive.com/47March/April 2018 —