As divers, we tend to either love sharks or love dives we are guaranteed not to see them (I’m in the first group!). Either way, their place in the ecosystem is critical to the balance of the ocean. Be active in letting your leaders know shark sanctuaries are crucial to the ocean’s ecosystem as we continue to fight back against the horrible shark fin trade. ~Mary Alice
To state it simply, sharks are interesting. So much so that entire weeks of television are devoted to them. There are a variety of sharks found around the world from the docile wobbegong to the great white shark.
A grey reef shark patrols the reef (c) Dr. Brian Beck
The atolls of Tuamotu, especially Fakarava, are world renowned for their shark diving and this means we have been seeing reef sharks on pretty much every dive. In fact, French Polynesia has the world’s largest shark sanctuary at 4.7 million square kilometers. The three most common species of shark we have been seeing are the white tip, black tip and grey reef shark. These are harmless sharks that can be up to 2 meters in length.
Grey Reef Shark (c) Serge Andrefouet
These sharks are particularly abundant in the channels running in and out of the atolls. In these passes, the strong currents make the waters particularly rich in nutrients, able to support a high abundance and diversity of reef organisms. The southern pass of Fakarava was one dive where the sharks were particularly abundant with over 100 sharks enjoying the currents.
Two Nurse Sharks wrestle in the sand (c) Serge Andrefouet
Written by Dr. Brian Beck Via mission-blue.org
Hi! I'm a PADI Scuba Instructor most fascinated by wrecks and Garden Eels who learned to dive in Bali (bad idea! Where does one go from there?!). When I have to surface I also enjoy Aikido, football, hiking, kayaking, reading, movies, crocheting, cooking and editing resumes, homework & websites for friends/family. Have a suggestion for an article? For me? Questions, comments or concerns - contact me any time. See you under the waves! ~M.A.
