Trip Comment: “Awesome crew, very knowledgeable. Such a great experience!” – Lachlan
“Great trip, interesting informaton and great combination of a tour and ecological aspects!” – Heike + Stevi
“Learnt a lot, had a great time hanging out and got lucky seeing two Copper sharks. Thank you to all crew and staff!” – Richard + Paulette
22/02/2018
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 14.3°C + 14.2°C
Depth: 9.5m + 8.7m
Visibility: 0.5m + 0.5m
Conditions: Clear skies with little swell and a decreasing east wind.
We started our trip off in almost perfect conditions, small swell and little wind. To our surprise, we had two endangered Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphins very close to the vessel.
We were extremely fortunate to see these animals as only around 500 Humpback Dolphins remain making them South Africa’s rarest cetacean. The Dyer Island Conservation Trust has catalogued around 30 individuals in recent years that frequent our bay. Unfortunately for these dolphins, they tend to reside in depths of around 20 meters or less which often them in close proximity to human activity, they are often caught in fishing nets or injured by hooks and fishing lines.
The activity was minimal at our first site, but once our anchor spot was repositioned, we managed to lure a very sizeable copper shark to the vessel. Even though the activity was slow, it was worth when our first shark took us all by surprise when it passed the cage. In South Africa, Copper Sharks are most associated with the sardine run, following vast schools of fish up and down our coast. The species is highly sort after by fisherman for meat and fins and their oils can also be used in cosmetics. Due to this, their population is highly vulnerable because of low reproduction and growth rates which can damage the overall health of an ecosystem.
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Shark Diving in South Africa, 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.
