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  • In Gansbaai, the largest white shark ever caught was at Danger Point and measured up to 5.9m. The exact world record white shark is a contested issue, but chances are it is between 6-7m.

  • If you see a white shark in the water don’t panic. Chances are high that the shark has already detected you and isn’t interested. White shark attacks are normally associated with poor visibility, so avoid murky conditions.

  • White sharks have a unique system called a “counter current heat exchange”, which keeps their body  tempreture +/- 7C above the surrounding water temperature. 

  • All sharks have an incredibly unique system on the tip of their nose called the “ampillae of Lorenzini”. These are small pores filled with a gel that transmits the electrical currents in the water to the shark’s brain so that it can assess its environment.

  • White sharks give birth to live young (not eggs), and they give birth to 6-8 pups at one time. Pups are usually between 1.0-1.5m in length and are born with teeth.

  • Body language has been a well documented form of shark communication and has identified body arching, jaw gaping, and other postures as specific social tactics.

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Daily trip 17 May 2012

Thursday, May 17, 2012 | 0 Comments Category: Daily Trips

Author: Nicola Stelluto (Environmental Ecologist)

 

Today was jam packed full of adventure! The swell on the water today turned even the simple action of getting into your wetsuit into a fun activity for the whole family :)! After everyone had their fair share of laughs at each other, the sharks started to arrive on the scene. They were a bit reluctant to breach the surface today, which made surface photos a bit difficult but not impossible as you can see. The divers in the cage were able to see the sharks quite nicely with a few very close passes taking place! I am very happy to have seen so many happy faces after the trip, even though some of our guests were a bit sick, everyone had a good time! Same time tomorrow...
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Daily trip 16 May 2012

Thursday, May 17, 2012 | 0 Comments Category: Daily Trips

Author: Nicola Stelluto (Environmental Ecologist)

 

What exceptionally brilliant weather we had at sea today, it is seldom that one has such calm waters. We had a very interesting range of clients on board the boat, about 90 % of them were from the United States of America and a good portion was from New York City. The fact that you are more likely to be bitten by a New Yorker on the streets of New York than to bitten by a great white shark did make the other non-American clients nervous :)! I can however say that everyone did survive the dive and left the boat with all their fingers and toes still attached! We had an abundance of shark activity and some great smiles from their pearly whites. Thanks guys...
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What is a white shark

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 | 0 Comments Category: Shark Facts

Author: Michelle Wcisel (Marine Biologist)

Have you heard that white sharks can detect faint movements like a single fish swimming in the distance or even a heart beat?  This shark fact blog checks out what exactly a shark's sixth sense means...

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Daily trip 15 May 2012

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 | 0 Comments Category: Daily Trips

Author: Nicola Stelluto (Environmental Ecologist)

Today offered some amazing shark activity at Dyer Island, the only downside today was the decrease in visibility from yesterday. This was attributed to the presence of large phytoplankton blooms in the water; these blooms are a vital part of the marine food web. However it has a negative impact on our visibility in the water, but luckily no impact on the shark activity! We had an interesting sighting of a shark covered extensively in parasites. Even though these animals often have internal and external parasites, this particular shark was riddled with them. “Zane” made a very abrupt pass and disappeared into the depths and left room for other sharks to make their passes. See you tomorrow...

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Daily trip 14 May 2012

Monday, May 14, 2012 | 0 Comments Category: Daily Trips

Author: Nicola Stelluto (Environmental Ecologist)

Those subantarctic skuas have been adopted by Marine Dynamics it would seem, because they are waiting for us every morning. They are a real pleasure to watch in the way that they escort us out of the harbour! We had some great sharks today, west of Dyer Island, with two of them being larger than 4 meters. Each cage had several close passes and there were several opportunities for photos from the deck. We even had some guests all the way from Jamaica to come and visit us and no they did not bring any brownies on board, I think :)! A real nice day it turned out to be...

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Daily trip 13 May 2012

Sunday, May 13, 2012 | 0 Comments Category: Daily Trips

Author: Nicola Stelluto (Environmental Ecologist)

It was once again the Subantarctic Skuas duty to escort us out to our dive site, however today he really came very close! We were kept waiting a bit today but the end result was worth it! We had several large sharks make their passes by the cage and there was even a large 4 meter female coming very close. She seemed intoxicated in the way that she just floated pass the front of the cage, an amazing shark she was! “Slash Fin” made another short and dramatic appearance for the clients and impressed them with his 4.7 meter body! It just started to rain so our trip was timed perfectly, great stuff team...

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