Top Three White Shark Destinations

There's only a few places in the world where divers-who are crazy-can get face to face with Great White sharks with the added safety of a cage. For many in the scuba world and beyond these critters are the pinnacle underwater thrill, a close encounter with the "Man in the Grey Suit". You may want to even consider the "Grand-Tour", a visit to each shark site in under one year. For many shark divers this remains the Holy Grail of shark diving.

Be sure to save up in advance as the total cost with flights, hotels, tips, and a few beers for the fearless shark gals in South Africa will set you back about $30,000. If you put it all on Visa they may even stick you in a commercial..Priceless!

Top Three White Shark Encounters:

Neptune Islands-Australia

Neptune Islands provide an ideal habitat for great white sharks. Great whites like rocky outcrops and volcanic islands because the shear drop-offs around the edges of the islands into cool, deep water provides the sharks with the temperature and depth that they need, while the seals and other animals that live on the islands provide an easily accessible food source. Neptune Islands sit on a submarine shelf south east of Port Lincoln, and provide an ideal habitat for these ambush predators. This small group of rocky islands, composed of grey granite and coastal loam, supports a large colony of seals as well as a colony of endangered Australian sea lions. Underwater footage for the movie "Jaws" was shot here because the waters around these islands are a natural feeding area for great whites. They have become one of the single best great white dive destinations in the world.

Who Dives There: Rodney Fox

Dyer Island- South Africa

Six miles off of Gansbaai, off the Western Cape of South Africa, lies Dyer Island. This is the original white shark destination and the granddaddy of them all. These low, rocky islands serve as a breeding ground for a wide variety of seabirds, while it's neighbour, a rocky outcrop called Geyser Islet, serves as a home for a large resident seal population. Put those two together and what you have is a prime time wildlife buffet for the great white sharks. White sharks, especially juveniles but also a few adults, are seen on a regular basis in the channel between the two islands where they feed on a variety of seals, often leaping completely out of the water "Air Jaws" style. This natural feeding ground is the main reason that many divers consider South Africa to be the one of the world's top shark diving destinations. With it's unique combination of wreck, reef, tropical and sub-tropical diving, this prime natural hunting ground for great whites, has earned South Africa a reputation as "the shark diving capital of the world"

Who Dives There: Apex Predators

Isla de Guadalupe-Mexico

Guadalupe Island is an oceanic, volcanic island about 190 miles offshore of Baja Mexico, 210 miles south of San Diego. The island has a sheer rock wall extending hundreds of feet up into the air, as well as hundreds of feet into the ocean. Great whites like rocky outcrops and volcanic islands because the shear drop-offs around the edges of the islands into cool, deep water provides the sharks with the temperature and depth that they need, while the seals and other animals that live on the islands provide an easily accessible food source. The volcanic islands are the only known reproductive zone for the Guadalupe fur seal in the world, and are important reproductive zones for a number of other marine animals as well. Recently discovered in 2001 by "Doc" Anes from San Diego Shark Diving- the islands large population of pinnipeds makes it one of the world's top places for great white shark sightings bar none.

Who Dives There: Shark Diver

New Zealand has Some 'Splainin to Do!

"Fins Cut, Live Sharks Tossed Back"

This is the headline from New Zealand this week. Sadly, where the rest of the planet is just beginning to understand how bad shark fining is, the good sheep farmers in New Zealand have a "Quota System" for shark fining. Then they become surprised when this happens:

Sharks are being caught in the Nelson region and illegally thrown back alive with their fins removed.

Department of Conservation Abel Tasman ranger Stu Houston said he came across a fishing boat in park waters on Tuesday, which had caught about 29 1m sand sharks and cut off their fins, throwing the mutilated sharks over the side. Some of the sharks were still alive.

"It's such a waste," Mr Houston said. "I've been a ranger down here for 14 years; that's one of the worst things I've seen, to be honest." It is legal to catch sharks for their fins in New Zealand, although under the Animal Welfare Act the sharks must be dead when thrown back.

Sharks in New Zealand are caught under the quota system, and mainly sold to Asia. Landing only the fin gives fishermen room to store more valuable fish. Mr Houston said if people knew the practice was legal they would be appalled. "Is that what we do in New Zealand?"

He said he approached the fishermen, who were on a boat from the Nelson region. The boat was fishing between Adele Island and the mainland, and kayakers and water taxis had seen the dead and dying sharks. DOC would not be taking any action as it was a Fisheries Ministry issue, Mr Houston said.

French Pass resident and charter boat operator Danny Boulton said he had written to Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton about the issue as he was so concerned. Shark finning happened regularly throughout the Sounds, he said. Mr Boulton said he had a BBC cameraman on his boat one day who was appalled to see the practice.

The cameraman had worked around the world and said many Third World countries didn't fish that way. It was a waste, Mr Boulton said, and he was concerned fishing was depleting the species. "These sharks, I see them on the reefs, they are really beautiful to see."

Ministry of Fisheries Nelson inshore fisheries manager Scott Williamson said a Richmond company processed shark fins. The value of the fins depended on the species, and some sharks were reasonably lucrative. He was not aware of the Abel Tasman incident, but would be looking into it, he said.

The ministry's main responsibility was to ensure the sustainability of sharks and it had released a consultation paper on shark management and conservation. Submissions on the paper close on February 1. For more information visit www.fish.govt.nz.

4 Reasons to Consider Shark Diving

Shark diving adventures have grown in popularity since 1990 with more operators and more dive sites than ever before. Safety and the understanding of sharks and shark behavior have led this unlikely revolution in scuba diving. Prior to the 90’s almost all species of shark were considered dangerous, even the beautiful Black Tip reef shark which today is the proud star attraction at many Shark Rodeos. Here is a short list of why you should consider a shark diving adventure on your next dive.

1. Safety first. Shark diving Rodeos have set the bar for safety and accessibility. This is when sharks are regularly baited to the same place at the same time with a small amount of fish carcass each day. Not enough to feed the sharks but just enough to keep their interest. Sharks will often come to places where they might get a chance at food. Operations like these have acclimated sharks over the years to the presence of divers. This is your chance to get close and personal with a shark, safely with trained professionals watching over your encounter.

2. Sit back and taken in the view. Caged encounters offer a more exciting way to view some of the top big shark species like the Great White and Tiger sharks. Newer cage designs and larger vessels have lead to an ongoing revolution in big animal encounters. Most operations do not require you to be scuba certified and run operations with either snorkel or with a Hookah or surface supplied air systems. With larger vessels divers can now visit more and more remote and pristine shark sites and offshore islands. The era of long range shark expeditions has just begun.

3. The “Eco Factor”. Shark dive leaders are a wealth of knowledge about the sharks you will be encountering. Operations worldwide are tuning to collaborations with shark research and will often have shark biologists on site as crew available to answer your questions. Dispelling the many negative myths surrounding sharks is the foremost concern of shark diving operations. For years the public have only seen the media’s view of sharks. With the help of trained shark staff and a marine biologist, you’ll come to learn that sharks are in fact in decline worldwide. The rewards of a shark encounter like this will change forever the way divers see big sharks. From the media hyped “killing machine”, to a more subtle understanding of the oceans top apex predators and the roles they play in today’s oceans.

4.Time is running out. “The Great White shark is, more importantly, endangered as the apex predator among fish.” Peter Benchley, author of Jaws, wrote this in response to the unregulated mass killing of sharks worldwide for just their fins. Sharks in the hundreds of millions are being taken each year to fuel the growing shark fin soup trade and many species are on the brink of collapse, never to be seen again. Sadly, shark diving encounters may be providing a last look at some of these magnificent predators that have been on this planet prior to humans. The good news is where ever you’ll find a shark dive company, you’ll also find a tireless champion of the species and with that comes eco protections from a growing chorus of thrilled divers and shark fans alike.

Happy Holidays from the UT Crew

'Tis the season for best wishes to all. From us here the UT Crew, we wish you the very best this holiday season. 2008 will bring about a whole new slew of amazing Underwater Thrills and the UT Crew will be here to bring them to you.

If it's wet, if it's bizarre, if it's wild, you'll find it here at UT.

Great White Sharks-Feeding Time Video

Back in October 2007 at a small island off the coast of Baja called Isla Guadalupe, a group of cage divers were treated to a real live shark attack. In the history of cage diving at this dive site live predations on seals have been rare events with only one other recorded event back in 2005. Seems the seals at this unique and stunning island are not all that dumb after all and tend not to get eaten. This is your National Geographic moment for the day. It could also be your Shark Week moment for the day as well.

Either way, here's a 15 foot Great White Shark-doing what they do best. Warning this video is graphic and features decapitated seals, lot's of blood, and one very hungry Great White shark: