Marine Dynamics Blog

Our amazing news

15th September

Location: Joubertsdam

Conditions: Swell, No wind

Visibility:3m

Water temp:16 Celcius

No Sharks:12

The water temperature is warmer than it has been in quite a while; this made it easier for everyone in the cage. Our first shark today was an acoustically tagged shark and it was big, around the 4 meter margin. This shark was followed by several smaller individuals and it was at this time that a Cape Fur seal took a chance to make an appearance! I would be lying if I said that everyone on board wasn’t hoping to see some action take place :)! It was very special to see how the seal chased the fish and the sharks on their turn chased the seal and so the circle of life continues. All in one trip, awesome…

The whale sightings are definitely giving the shark sightings a run for their money! It was incredible to see two Southern Right Whales so close to our boat and the fact that they loved to pose for photos made it even better. This was also at the very beginning of our trip and therefore laid the path for things to come. The sharks were equally as impressive with sightings of two tagged sharks; one acoustically and the other satellite. The largest shark was well over the 4 meter marker and the smallest was about 1.7 meters, a nice variation amongst individuals. Another great day in Kleinbaai…

We almost had the entire Marine Big 5 today: Sharks, whales, seals, dolphins and almost a penguin. Even though we are here to see the Great White Shark in action, it’s always great to be able to appreciate the immense diversity that we find in this area. I think the only major complaint from everyone was that their battery life on their cameras was dying or that their memory cards were filling up to fast :)! The sharks did keep us waiting for a while today, but when they showed up it was spectacular. A little patience is always needed…

It is definitely whale season here in Kleinbaai, he have been having some amazing shark sightings along with some impressive whale sightings as well! Today was one of those days where I was able to look down the shark’s mouth on several occasions, always a winner to see that perspective of a Great White Shark! The water visibility was a bit of a limiting factor today, however we had a champ of a shark that just kept going around in circles in front of the cage. It gave very close passes by the cage and everyone had an opportunity to see it smile! A 4 meter female arrived here at the end of the trip showing how big these animals can get. Thanks guys for a good one…

On our way out of the harbour we were lucky in that we spotted two Southern Right Whales. That is a great way to start a shark trip! The sharks were a bit reluctant to make their presence known and they gave some distant passes. Nonetheless they did show up to put on a show! We also had a frenzy of small bait fish known as mullet around the boat that seemed to enjoy our chum as much as the sharks did. As you can see from the photos there is always a lot to see in the area including the sharks! You never know what amazing things you may spot…

Two great trips today with awesome weather, just before the winds start to pick up tomorrow! The only thing that compared with the great shark sightings was the Southern Right Whales that we saw on both of our trips. The one was a slightly smaller brindle whale with its white spots; this made the sighting even more special! The prop scar made a turn around the boat again today and it is starting to look better, it would seem. I am truly loving the weather and the awesome sightings…

We had the best weather and sea conditions today; it was sunny with very little wind and no swell. The sharks did keep us waiting a bit today, but when they arrived they did not stop and gave us some awesome passes. We did have a massive female shark swim pass the cage with a large prop scar to the base of its dorsal fin, not as large as the scar seen on another shark earlier in the week though. Our research boats were out in fall force today and our team of biologist were able to tag a 3.5 meter male shark with an acoustic tag. They then proceeded to monitor the shark’s movements in the area, which then brought them to our shark diving vessel! This just showed everyone on board today how devoted Marine Dynamics remains in its conservation and research efforts. Well done team…

Another sunny day in Africa with great people and even ‘Greater’ White Sharks! Our first shark of the day was also the biggest one, a massive 4.4 meter female with loads of parasites on its tail. The sharks kept coming from that point onwards and our family from Sweden got a lovely surprise when a shark came VERY close to the cage. After a great day at sea we spotted two bottlenose dolphins just outside the harbour, they weren’t very interested in us but they hung around for a while at least! I love the sunny weather…

It was great to see the wind decided to subside for today’s trip allowing us to fully enjoy the sunny conditions. We didn’t have the massive sharks today, but they were nonetheless great players who put on a terrific show. Some big breaches with sharks baring all their teeth :). We also had a sighting of a group of penguins with some juvenile ones in-between. There was also one very adorable Cape Cormorant chasing after some fish around Dyer Island, he was not paying any attention to the seals and swam amongst them. Always something new to see…

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