Whether you’re deathly afraid or freakishly fascinated with sharks, there is no argument that shark diving in the Bahamas likely promises the most intense hour-long experience of your life. Travelers to The Bahamas have the rare chance to observe these large, top-of-the-food-chain predators in their natural habitat. No matter where you’re planning to stay in The Bahamas, there’s a spot to shark dive close by. And, each of these dive sites produces different views and experiences, from feeding grounds to observation from below.
Long Island
Shark diving in the Bahamas began on Long Island decades ago, as a local dive operator began bringing hungry-eyed divers to feast upon the sights of sharks gulping down bait. The experience has been so popular that shark feeding dives continue to thrill Long Island visitors today at what is now called Shark Reef. Divers line up on the sandy bottom of Shark Reef, nestling their backs to a coral bluff, while they watch a suited divemaster dump a bucket of bait into the water. The scooping frenzy commences as Carcharhinus perezi (Caribbean Reef Sharks) swallow the bait whole right in front of the awe-struck divers.
Grand Bahama
Divers visiting Grand Bahama are encouraged to take a stroll down two of the most popular–and thrilling–underwater streets in the Bahamas: Shark Junction and Shark Alley. The neighborhood game here is hand feeding with full suits, and nonstop action. Against the backdrop of an old recompression chamber, the 40-foot (13 m) dive invites sharks to cruise within feet of divers. There’s never a dull moment at these avenue block parties that perpetuate under the surface, as crowds of sharks are always on hand. Even when they’re not feeding, sharks are always mysteriously circling the streets, like beat police or street gangs protecting their territory.
Walkers Cay
At Walker’s Cay, the site is called Shark Rodeo and the scuba diving experience lives up to its rowdy name. The sandy stage is twice the size of an Olympic swimming pool and teeming with more than a hundred reef and black tip sharks. Into the ring, divemasters throw frozen “chumsicles” and the spectators get their money’s worth. Unlike the Running of the Bulls or other rodeo events, however, divers can breathe a bit easier knowing the event is controlled, like all of the other shark feeding dives in The Bahamas.
New Providence / Nassau
New Providence offers the entire range of south coast shark dives, where plenty of sharks are always on hand and anticipating the next feed. Typically, shark dives in New Providence are two tank dives–the first is a dive on the wall, where divers watch these sharks cruise at a distance waiting for the promising smell of blood and bait. They won’t get it, though, until the second tank dive, when the bait finally gets released into the water. Then, the already thrilling first dive gets intensified as divers watch the sharks devour their meal.
The dive operators in New Providence have come up with some excellent techniques for getting averages of more than 20 sharks to show up for dives. Because some of the feeders also wear a full chainmail suit and hand feed the sharks or present the bait on spears, divers are able to snap perfect underwater photos of the feed. There are even locations that offer Shark Awarness PADI courses and recreational divers are given the opportunity to be the feeders–chainmail, hand feeding, and all! In Nassau, the opportunity to witness white-tip reef sharks is also accessible to divers who visit the blue hole.
Shark Buoy Out in the center of the deepest and bluest water, floats a huge yellow bouy. This bobbing ball of sunshine is the marker known as Shark Buoy, and it’s about an hour’s boat ride from New Providence. Therefore, its color and curiosity as the only structure for miles attracts it a lot of marine life. Dozens of fish species teem in the blue waters below the buoy. The main attraction, however, is Carcharhinus falciformis–the Silky Shark. Slender and graceful, these smaller sharks affectionately called “silkies” can whip quickly through the water when necessary, surprising and thrilling divers who witness their speed.
San Salvador
Although the dives at San Salvador aren’t feeds, the divers who visit its sites are often rewarded with encounters with other species, such as scalloped hammerheads.
The Exumas
Although much less frequented, the Exumas dive sites also offer the opportunity for scuba divers to see or encounter sharks. At these locations, divers have even witnessed the occasional whale shark.
Liveaboards
When staying on one of the liveaboards in The Bahamas, you can expect at least one organized shark dive each week. Some liveaboards carry out their shark dives at sites south of Bimini (Bull Run), while others crank up the creativity by shark diving inside the Cay Sal blue hole appropriately nicknamed Shark Hole. Various Bahamas liveaboard dive boats offer shark dives at the locations specified in this article as well.
Because of the ever-popular shark dives, the scuba education industry has flourished. The demand has generated a specific PADI Shark Awareness Course that is offered to divers in many Bahamian locations across the islands. In addition, there are assistant shark feeder courses available at several sites. Regardless of how and where you choose to encounter sharks in The Bahamas, be prepared for the experience offered in these islands. While you may be picturing the shadow of a shark in the distance as you swim underwater, the reality is that you’re heart is going to pump when you realize that there are dozens in every direction. The Bahamas shark dives really live up to the hype and the wonder afforded them in all of the magazines.