05/02/2017

Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 17.2 °C + 17.5 °C
Depth: 8m
Visibility: 1m + 1.5m
Number of Sharks: 10 + 7
Conditions: Swell

Trip 1
The day started with an incredible first trip. February is notoriously a difficult month for white shark sightings in Gansbaai so we were very pleased to see our first shark arrive within less than 10 minutes of being anchored. We saw a range of shark sizes from 2.5m-4.1m TL and the majority of sharks were male, which is quite unusual for summer inshore-a typically female dominated season. ‘Dolphin-fin’- a juvenile male with a rounded dorsal showed up, I’m told by the crew that he was first spotted back here last week. It is always amazing to see individuals we recognize return back to the bay alive and well after being away. The last time I saw dolphin-fin was summer 2016. He is a juvenile and this age group are far more at risk from fishing pressure than the older sharks.

Trip 2
The second trip was equally as lucky, although a swell began to pick up and a red tide started to push into the area we were anchored. These dense phytoplankton blooms are common here in late summer and are a sign of high productivity. The productivity brings predators and this was evident as we passed a huge baitball with hundreds of cormorants and Cape Gannets diving and feeding on it! Everyone was fortunate enough to see sharks both under and on top of the water and we even had a few short tailed stingrays glide by the cage, a perfect day at sea!

If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Great White Shark Cage Diving in Gansbaai, and more specifically with Marine Dynamics, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you won’t want to miss. Book and pay online with us and get a free video of your encounter with the world’s apex predator.