Guest comment: “The crew was wonderful and informative. Too bad we didn’t see a shark!” – Kathleen
“Great crew and fun trip even though no sharks. We will try again!” – Kait
“Great crew, very informative. Disappointed no luck seeing a shark, great that we can try again though!” – Dean + Diane
22/04/2017
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 11.3’C + 11.4’C
Depth: 7.8m + 8.0m
Visibility: 1.0m + 1.0m
Number of Sharks: 0 + 0
Conditions: Flat seas with a slight wind and clear skies.
Prior to 2016 Marine Dynamics could say that we may perhaps on average have 10 trips a year we would refer to as a “miss trip”, this is a trip in which no sightings of the White sharks were had. In January 2016 and February 2017, the White shark cage diving industry of Gansbaai experienced uncommon periods of no shark sightings for multiple weeks. This is of course very disheartening to the staff and crew involved in the industry as for many of us it is not just a job but the sharks are a passion we enjoy showing others and to our guests who travel from all over the world to see these animals. There are many factors that influence wildlife sightings and it is completely unpredictable, unfortunately, after two days of slow activity and minimal sightings in the area we, along with all other seven companies experienced a morning of no sharks! The second trip of the day had no more luck then the morning one and did not get to see a White shark.
The theories are many, however there is one factor we have seen present in the recent shark scarcity of February 2017 and with the decrease in sightings at current and that is the presence of two male Orca, “Port” and “Starboard” in the bay. They were first spotted in the area on the 19th by our sister company, Dyer Island Cruises, and today just after Midday we were informed they were seen again just off shore near the Joubertsdam, our anchoring site!
To all our guests of today…a big thank you for being such patient and understanding groups, we truly appreciate it!
We are all hoping that this does not pan out like February did and we will keep all informed of any sightings here on our daily blog or Marine Dynamic’s Facebook page.
