Sharkwatch SA Blog

Guest comment: “A great experience! Such a wonderful adventure with such great people!” – Brendan

“Wonderful afternoon. Good views and very informative!” – Annabel

“Amazing to finally view an animal I’ve always bbeen fascinated by! Thank you. Great staff!” - Nicholas

06/05/2014
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 14.5'C
Depth: 9.5m
Visibility: 0.5m
Number of Sharks: 6+6
Conditions: Sunny + choppy

It was great to get back on the water today after two days off due to bad sea and weather conditions. The first trip saw a range of sharks between 2.7 and 3.7m. Not only were the sharks around we also had a number of Wilson’s Storm Petrels near the boat this morning. These are one of the smallest of seabirds, and are known to use a very intriguing method on the ocean’s surface to help them find food. They can be observed hovering and pattering on the surface of the water, this behaviour appears to attract planktonic organisms, such as larval fish and crustaceans, which the bird will feed on. Our second trip of the day saw the same number of sharks, yet different individuals. We were graced again by the presence of the small female known as “Fishing Line Shark” and by the largest shark of the day, a 3.7m female with a big notch seen in her dorsal fin. We also had an interesting visitor to Slashfin during the afternoon, a Hagfish! This is an eel-shaped marine fish that has remained mostly unchanged for millions of years. This Hagfish was attracted to our Salmon heads on the bait line. They can be observed to use tail-to-head knot behaviour to pull off chunks of flesh from carrion fish etc. They also have a fascinating way of avoiding or escaping capture in which they produce a large amount of slime which covers their body, if this does not assist in their escape they can then use a head-to-tail knot which frees them from the slime and also the predator! Last but not least, on behalf of Marine Dynamics we would like to extend the happiest of congratulations to Mr and Mrs Sharkey who are enjoying their honeymoon in South Africa and spent the morning onboard Slashfin! Possibly a tad bit biased but that has got to be one of the most awesome surnames around! Allround a great day back on the water...

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 online with us and get a free video of your encounter with the world’s apex predator.