Are There Nonetheless Sharks in Gansbaai?
By Kiara Homan
Gansbaai, as soon as labelled the hotspot of nice white shark cage diving is a large vacationer attraction. Sadly, with South Africa’s decline on this particular species, it has left many questioning if they may see sharks when diving in these waters.
Simply over 2 hours away from Cape City, Gansbaai enjoys a number of marine biodiversity which creates a haven not just for the varied marine life but additionally for the predators that hunt them. It has a cove of lovely kelp forests that enables for a wealthy habitat attracting many various creatures; from tiny species just like the brittle starfish to large species just like the humpback whales who frequent the coast throughout breeding season (June – November).
The kelp forests present the smaller shark species that bigger sharks like the nice white and bronze whalers usually hunt: just like the pyjama shark, which grows to 1 meter and feeds on bony creatures at night time; and the leopard catshark, which grows to roughly 84 cm and hunts at night time for the excessive numbers of shrimp and squid that dwell within the forests.
There may be additionally the puffadder shark, a small shark that solely reaches a most of 60cm in size and feeds on worms and crustaceans. One other one is the gully shark, rising to 2 meters in size and looking primarily squid. These smaller shark species are an ideal prey supply for the juvenile and bigger sharks within the space.
The bronze whaler shark, a species that has largely changed the nice white in Gansbaai, grows to three.3 meters in size and lives in massive teams. The previous saying energy in numbers involves thoughts as these teams assist one another to hunt bigger prey.
One other massive species of shark that frequents the Gansbaai coast is the Broad-nose Sevengill shark, rising to an analogous measurement to the bronze whaler. They take pleasure in cruising throughout the kelp forest and are usually backside feeders.
Shark cage diving in Gansbaai remains to be an ideal possibility even with the decreased sightings of the nice white shark. The bronze whaler and 7 gill are apex predators and are among the extra generally seen sharks.
Even with the decline in nice white exercise, individuals from all around the world nonetheless flock to the Overberg’s gem to work together and study concerning the new apex predators, the Bronze Whaler, and Seven Gill Cow shark.
This space caters for giant teams. Sometimes, they take 20 to +-35 cage divers plus crew, which implies the cages cater for as much as 9 cage divers at anyone time. The journey length is between 2-3 hours (climate dependent). The most well-liked diving methodology used is breath-hold because the cages are floor cages and this enables the shark handlers to speak straight with the visitors and advise them wherein path the sharks are swimming and the place to look.
There are 9 operators working on this space and one might be confused as to which operator to e book with. Be certain that you select the most effective operator primarily based in your particular necessities.
E book your journey immediately!
Additionally learn: 5 Greatest SA vacation locations for each kind of vacationer
