Great white sharks were once abundant in South Africa’s False Bay and Gansbaai regions, but recent ecological shifts have changed their distribution. Shark Alley, a renowned location off the coast of Gansbaai, offers a unique opportunity to witness these apex predators in their natural environment. This article delves into the facts about Shark Alley, the great white sharks that inhabit it, and the thrilling experience of cage diving.
What is Shark Alley?
As a general rule, swimming in an area named “shark alley” probably isn’t a good idea. All over the world, locals know special hotspots for certain fish and sharks, but one seems to have made a name for itself above the rest. Shark alley is a small region around Dyer Island and Geyser Rock, just off the mainland of South Africa. Locals have been naming places “shark alley” for a long time, but there is one that gets national attention.
Dyer Island is a small island located only a few miles off the southern shores of mainland South Africa. The island, aside from being the shark capital of the world, is also a nationally protected penguin and seabird sanctuary. Great whites love seals, and Dyer Island has 60,000 of them. As much as humans would view Dyer Island as a rocky and uninhabitable place to live, it’s actually the defining feature of the area.
Dyer Island Nature Reserve
The Dyer Island Nature Reserve Complex is a protected area off the coast of Gansbaai in the Western Cape, South Africa. Dyer Island is the largest in the group of islands, and lies about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) offshore from Gansbaai and Danger Point Lighthouse. It is home to a declining colony of African penguins (≈ 5000 individuals in 2015). Geyser Island is a smaller island nearby and is home to around 60,000 brown fur seals. In 1988, the two islands were named individually as Provincial Nature Reserves.
The Great White Sharks
Undoubtedly the great white shark gained a reputation as a merciless maneater from the film Jaws - the reality is that ‘the white death’, as the species is sometimes known, favors a diet of marine mammals, fish, and even seabirds. However, there is no denying that the species is dangerous, responsible for more attacks on mankind - provoked and unprovoked - than any other type of shark. So it is just as well that this experience does not involve direct contact with sharks in any form.
Read also: Shark Attack Investigation: Sharm El Sheikh
Together with nearby Geyser Rock, shark alley is home to a thriving population of over 60,000 seals. Almost any place in the world that has a dense population of seals is likely to have a dense population of great whites. Although great whites are opportunistic hunters, they heavily prefer seals. Great whites have been recorded hunting seals, sea lions, northern elephant seals, brown fur seals, harbor seals, California sea lions, and grey seals. Since great whites are so large, they need a high caloric intake to sustain them. A fatty seal covered in protective blubber may be one of the most calorie-dense meals on the face of the earth. In just 100 grams of seal blubber, there is an estimated 772 calories.
Great whites are extremely widespread, even if there isn’t a large number of them. Although great whites are migratory, they are often found in some numbers in various places, including the ones mentioned. Even still, just because a location isn’t a “hot spot” for great whites does not mean they are not likely to still be around. Great white sharks eat a wide variety of foods. As mentioned, seals and other pinnipeds are their favorites, but they aren’t picky if something else presents itself.
The Shift in Shark Populations
Great white sharks were once abundant in South Africa’s False Bay and Gansbaai regions. To see a great white shark breach the waves, its powerful jaws clasping a shock-struck seal, is to see the very pinnacle of predatory prowess. Or so we thought. Long before they started chomping on yachts, killer whales were making headlines for a rash of attacks on South African great white sharks. The killings were as gruesome as they were impressive. From the initial news of the attacks, the situation only got weirder.
“The decline of white sharks was so dramatic, so fast, so unheard of that lots of theories began to circulate,” says Michelle Jewell, an ecologist at the Michigan State University Museum. In the absence of explanation, pet theories abounded. Some proposed that overfishing of the sharks’ prey to feed Australia’s fish and chips market led to the shark’s declines. Other activists misinterpreted that idea and went on to campaign against what they thought was the recent inclusion of great white shark meat as a surprise ingredient in Australian fish and chips. Others thought the disappearance was directly caused by the killer whales.
“Any time you see large population declines in local areas, it’s cause for conservation concern,” says Heather Bowlby, a shark expert with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Now, though, scientists finally know what happened. In a recent paper, Bowlby and her colleagues show that the sharks’ disappearance was indeed caused by the killer whales. But the sharks aren’t dead. They just moved.
Read also: Shark Attack Hurghada Details
To Jewell, who wasn’t involved in the research, this makes sense. “We know that predators have a huge influence on the movement and habitat use of their prey, so this isn’t really surprising,” she says. T. Alison Kock, a marine biologist with South African National Parks and a co-author of the study, says they cracked the mystery after reports started flowing in from sites farther east that white sharks were showing up unexpectedly. “As False Bay and Gansbaai had major declines, other places reported huge increases in white shark populations,” she says.
In the white sharks’ absence, South Africa’s west coast is changing. New species like bronze whalers and sevengill sharks have moved into False Bay. For the tour operators who ran shark dives in the area, however, the shift has been difficult. Some have survived by switching to offering kelp forest dives-driven in part by the popularity of the documentary My Octopus Teacher. But what of the great white sharks’ new home farther east? No one quite knows how these regions are adapting to a sudden influx of apex predators, but scientists expect some significant ecological changes.
We may never know exactly how many white sharks died in killer whale attacks. The prized, presumably tasty, livers targeted by the killer whales help white sharks float, which means many dead white sharks may have sunk uncounted. “This has been very worrying for me, and it was good to see evidence that they hadn’t all died,” says Kock. “But it’s still unbelievable to me that I can go to [False Bay’s] Seal Island and not see any white sharks. It’s something I never expected, and I miss them a lot.”
Shark Cage Diving Experience
One of Africa's most controversial but exhilarating experiences is the Great White Shark Tours offered in the small town of Gansbaai. Driving here from the Mother City takes about two hours. It is also worth mentioning that Gansbaai is only half an hour by road from Hermanus, which is home to some outstanding whale watching!
A number of companies based in Gansbaai offer the shark experience. All have an excellent reputation for safety and regularly receive great reviews! Crew members are fully qualified and the dives are always supervised. Diving equipment and towels are provided free of charge and no experience is necessary. The activity begins with boarding a boat, any time between 7 o’clock in the morning and midday. Travel times depend on the tides and also on the sea conditions, so thrillseekers are kept informed and notified if the trip isn’t possible on the designated day. Most tours set off from the harbor of Kleinbaai, a town situated 2 kilometers from Gansbaai.
Read also: Entrepreneurs Making Waves
Before you set sail, you receive a full safety briefing and sometimes a complimentary breakfast too! The destination for cage diving is chosen according to the sea conditions too - and this decision is also based on recent sightings. Dive sites include Dyer Island, where you can spot all the Marine Big Five - sharks, whales, seals, dolphins, and penguins! The presence of a lot of wildlife here naturally provides a lot of food for hungry sharks. In fact, the channel between Dyer Island and nearby Geyser Rock is known as Shark Alley, as such high concentrations of sharks pass through on their way to feeding!
Alternatively, you might travel to Joubert’s Dam, closer to Gansbaai. Once the crew has dropped anchor, it is time for them to entice the great whites towards the boat. Some companies use a chum mixture - a delicious combo of fish bits, bones, and blood - while others employ a scent line. The cage is made from galvanized steel. The spaces between the bars are wide enough for you to get a good view, but narrow enough to make sure the sharks cannot get in! Cage sizes vary according to the operator - some are large enough to fit eight persons, which can be comforting if you do not fancy facing the sharks by yourself. You can also choose between a dip just under the surface of the water or a full-on dive into the depths. If you prefer to stay on board the boat, you will still have plenty of amazing views.
Coming so close to these astonishing sea creatures is a very exciting experience. Their motion through the water is effortlessly smooth and the mottled white-and-grey appearance of their skin within the blue-green water is really rather beautiful. Those teeth are frightening, though!
What to Expect on a Shark Cage Diving Trip
Between the islands of Geyser Rock and Dyer Island is a narrow and shallow channel called Shark Alley - reputed to be the world’s best place for Great White shark cage diving. Due to the resident seal colonies in the area, Shark Alley has been dubbed “the supermarket for sharks”. A short boat ride from Gansbaai, Shark Alley is ideal for those who wish to experience the thrill of getting up close and personal with these giant predators, but who do not possess a dive certification. Your cage dive takes place just meters below the surface of the water so no diving experience is necessary.
What’s Included:
- Light breakfast
- Complimentary collection from central Cape Town hotels
Personal Experiences
One of the things we had the pleasure of experiencing Shark cage diving while in Cape Town. It’s one of those adventure activities that elicit strong reactions from people. Mention shark cage diving and the response is one of awe and excitement, utter fear, or mild to strong disapproval - as can be expected from an extreme activity involving close encounters with this fearless and feared predator.
We decided to take the plunge and go diving with the great whites in Cape Town to find out what it’s really like to get close to the king of apex predators…WHAT’S IT LIKE? In Cape Town, the shark cage diving industry is a robust and flourishing one with tens of thousands of tourists taking the plunge every year. As the driver picked us from the hotel at 4.20 am & drove us through the Cape Flats and up Sir Lowry’s Pass he told us a bit about the local history and other interesting trivia, as well as talking about the everyday battles people face in the townships. He immediately won our confidence with his direct and open approach, by not glossing over the less attractive aspects of Cape Town, and his driving was excellent which also helped.
We arrived at White Shark Projects, one of eight operators in Kleinbaai, we met the other brave souls going shark diving and at 6:30 on a Tuesday morning, just in time for a quick breakfast with 17 other tourists, and a briefing from Mr. Tom about shark behavior. He reminded us that the great white’s reputation as a maneater is ill-founded. There are only “between 50 and 60” shark attacks against humans each year, he said, only four or five fatalities. As Mr. Then we signed the indemnity forms claiming personal responsibility for ourselves and our stuff. As we scribbled on the dotted line, our guide shared some of his in-depth knowledge about white sharks and what to expect out in Shark Alley. The most reassuring bit of information was that White Shark Project has been operating for over 15 years now and has a 100% safety record (sigh of relief).
We pushed off from the dock at 6:45 on an overcast morning and skimmed across the bay for 20 minutes to the marine reserve. Crew members lay anchor winched the cage into place on the starboard side of the boat, baited lines, and scattered chum - minced fish and shark liver blended with brine. Then we waited. A few minutes after the evacuation, Mr. Tom shouted “Shark!” we scanned the nearby water, and, with a thrill, we glimpsed an image straight out of the 2003 film “Open Water”: a curved dorsal fin knifing with great speed toward the boat. All 18 of us rushed to starboard and, as the vessel tilted dangerously, we watched the first great white shark of the morning swim toward the bait lines just below the surface. He was a modest five feet long, and though the water was murky, we could clearly make out his torpedo-like shape, beady eyes, and conical snout.
It wasn’t long before our sharks arrived. We had a close encounter with SEVEN in total with the largest estimated at meters or 12+ feet long. We thought having so many people on the boat would mean less time in the cage, but in total, I had about 30 to 35 minutes in the water. The skipper helped me down into the cage and the chilly 6°C water. Standing on a cross-bar in the capsule-shaped steel cage I was up to my shoulders in the water, with my head comfortably above the surface. We found the metal bars of the cage surprisingly thin and the gaps between the bars alarmingly bigger than I’d imagined - yet all very strong and sturdy. The cages vary slightly between operators and some companies use light weights to reduce your buoyancy in the water.
Soon a sleek male shark emerged. The spotters hollered from onboard and we gripped the bars running along the inside of the cage to pull ourselves underwater and peer at the aquatic beast. The underwater visibility was between 2 and 3 meters, which means we could see the shark quite clearly as it sailed silently through the water. For a few magical moments, the shark was gliding only a few meters away from my eyes - an awesome sight! We also experienced an open-mouthed great white swim directly toward my face before turning at the last second to avoid the thin metal bars that separated us.
There were snacks on board. Pop, water, potato chips/crisps, and sandwiches so there’s no need to bring anything unless you have dietary restrictions. Many of my fellow passengers elected to observe the proceedings from the relative comfort of the boat deck; I opted for the cage, which allows one to view the predators underwater, and if lucky, to observe them from just inches away.
Dive Information
The village of Kleinbaai, a two-hour drive from Cape Town, is South Africa’s cage-diving Mecca. The road near the harbor is lined with dive-boat operators, all of which run daily, and sometimes twice-daily, expeditions to the great white feeding grounds around Dyer Island. You can book with them directly, or go, as I did, through a tour agent, which locates available boats on the date you want to go. A morning or afternoon trip costs roughly 1,200 rands (about $165.50 at 7.25 to the dollar) and includes a pickup and drop off in Cape Town, breakfast or lunch, boat transport, onboard snacks, sunblock, and all dive equipment. Peak season is June through September when booking well in advance is recommended. The off-season runs between December and March.
Other Species in Shark Alley
There are many species besides the elusive “Great White” in Shark Alley. These include the Largetooth Sawfish Shark identified by its saw-like snout with 14 to 23 large teeth protruding from it, the Nurse Shark, and the Sand Tiger Shark, a big gray fish with a pointed snout and sharp teeth that protrude from its mouth even when closed. On this day, the waters were filled with all of these. After a few waiting minutes, the Bronze Whaler sharks decided to sample our chum and play with the cage (and us!) as we balanced on metal bars, submerged along the side of the boat. I spent about 30 minutes in the cage and also had the opportunity to enjoy the views from above as others went up close and personal with our marine friends.
Here’s our crew heading in to the Marine Dynamics facility for steaming hot vegetable soup and fresh biscuits. Nothing ever tasted better! We are a family of organisations dedicated to the marine environment. Marine Dynamics is located in Gansbaai South Africa, a two and a half hour drive from Cape Town. They offer half and full day dives. I chose the half day for about $250 US.
Conservation Efforts
DICT (the Dyer Island Conservation Trust) is an organization that protects, researches, and cares for the place that many are afraid of. Using the money generated by the tours and dives, they look after the area.
One man recently swam from Cape Town to Dyer Island and back. As crazy as it sounds, some people do swim in the areas around Dyer Island. Dewet du Toit from Stellenbosch recently became the first man to swim the 7.7 km to Dyer Island and back to the mainland. Aside from it being really cold, the area is famous locally for its shark population. Yet, the goal of the swim wasn’t just for fun. Dewet was raising awareness for the sharks that are extremely threatened in the area and wanted to show just how misunderstood the sharks are.
Can You Swim Where Great Whites Live?
If you’ve ever been in the ocean, you’ve already been swimming where sharks live. The idea of swimming with great whites is incredibly scary. People often wonder if it’s safe to swim in the ocean, knowing that these predators lurk beneath the surface. While seeing a shark would be terrifying if you were in the water, the likelihood of being attacked is extremely low. If you’ve ever been in the ocean for any amount of time, it’s extremely possible that a shark was within a few hundred feet of you. Last year, ten people out of a population of 8,000,000,000 people were killed by a variety of shark species.
Conclusion
Shark cage diving in Shark Alley
Shark Alley remains a fascinating and thrilling destination for those seeking to witness the power and beauty of great white sharks. Despite the shifts in shark populations and the ecological changes, the area continues to offer a unique and unforgettable experience. Whether you are an adventure seeker or a marine life enthusiast, Shark Alley provides an unparalleled opportunity to connect with these apex predators in a safe and responsible manner.
Popular articles:
tags: #Africa
