Swimming with sharks is one of the most exciting ways to learn all about sharks. It’s a thrilling, once in a lifetime adventure and can actually help save sharks. Swimming with sharks can be a great addition to any vacation, and will provide you with an amazing and unique experience. There are so many reasons to swim with sharks, that the next time you go on vacation you should absolutely look into adding this experience to your itinerary.
Sharks Are Beautiful
The best reason to swim with sharks is that sharks are magnificent, beautiful creatures. Seeing these amazing creatures up close and personal can help you learn more about them and truly understand the majesty of these creatures. Whether you go on a group dive, a cage dive, or a shallow snorkeling expedition, swimming with sharks is the best way to truly appreciate their beauty.
Sharks Do Not Survive Well In Captivity
Sharks do not fare so well in captivity. Most sharks die within a few short days of being captured. While others may only survive for a short time because the tanks confuse them, so they will either stop eating or swim into the walls of the tank until they commit suicide. So it’s rare that anyone even gets to even see a living shark outside of its natural habitat. This is especially true with larger sharks like Whale Sharks or Great White Sharks, and sharks that live in deeper waters like the Thresher Shark or Mako Sharks. So swimming with sharks really is the only way to ever see most species of shark.
Swimming With Sharks Is Safe
Swimming with sharks may seem like a scary prospect since sharks are the apex predators of the sea. Couple that with the knowledge that sharks have occasionally bitten humans, many people feel like sharks should be avoided when swimming. However, there are many species of docile sharks like Whale Sharks, Basking Sharks, and Nurse Sharks, that are good for beginners. However, even in the case of more aggressive sharks like Bull Sharks and Great White Sharks, if you go with an experienced, knowledgeable diving team you will be completely safe. In fact, people dive with sharks every single day without incident, so you have nothing to be scared of if you decide to swim with sharks.
You Can Swim With Your Favorite Shark
There are so many varieties of sharks in the world and just as many specialized tours for swimming with these different species. You can swim with filter feeders like Whale Sharks and Basking Sharks, you can dive with apex predators sharks like Great White Sharks, Blacktip Sharks, and Hammerheads, or even with smaller ground dwellers like Angel Sharks, Bamboo Sharks, or Catsharks. So no matter what your favorite shark is, there are tours that can help you swim with most of the sharks in the world.
You Can Swim With Sharks All Over The World
When most people think about swimming with sharks, they think about exotic locations like Shark Alley in South Africa or seeking out the rare Thresher Shark in Malapascua Island in the Philippines. However, sharks are found in every ocean on the planet, so you don’t have to travel across the globe for this exciting experience. No what beach you find yourself on, there’s usually a way to swim with the local sharks. So the next time you go to the beach, you should look into the options, you may be surprised what kind of experiences are available at even just a small, local beach.
You Don’t Have To Be An Expert Swimmer
There are a broad variety of shark dives offered for every level of swimmer. From shallow water snorkeling to deep water scuba diving to cage diving, no matter what your skill level you can find a way to swim with sharks no matter your swimming expertise. So if you want to swim with sharks but aren’t a great swimmer, research the different kinds of dives available and talk to the tour leader. They will be able to tell you what dive to take at your expertise level. So don’t feel limited by your swimming abilities, anyone can swim with sharks!
Swimming With Sharks Is Inexpensive
Many people think swimming with sharks is expensive. However, there are several tours that cost very little money. In fact, some tours like snorkeling with local sharks, can even be provided for free with a hotel activity package. Shark dives tend to cost around $100-150 a day, depending on where you are and the type of shark dive. Shark dives get gradually more expensive depending on the skill level of the diver, the depth of the water, and whether or not it is a cage dive or a free water dive. The most expensive dives, that are usually in deep ocean water, far from shore, last for a couple of days, and require a lot of equipment, can cost around $3000. So swimming with sharks is affordable for anyone, and can only be costly depending on how extreme you want to take your adventure.
Promotes Conservation
The final and best reason to swim with sharks is because it promotes conservation efforts. Shark tourism earns around $314 million dollars annually. The economic value of shark tourism is much more valuable than commercial shark fishing, culling shark populations, and byproduct catches. Areas with thriving, profitable shark tourism with enact conservation laws to protect the economy. These conservation laws, like protected zones and illegal fishing help protect and preserve the local shark populations. Swimming with sharks also helps people learn all about sharks so they are more likely to support conservation efforts no matter where they live. So if you want to protect sharks, one of the best ways is to swim with them.
Swimming with sharks is an amazing, unique experience. No matter where you are, what level of swimming expertise, and your financial situation, you can swim with sharks. Swimming with sharks is an amazing way to learn all about sharks and to also help protect their species, so consider looking into this incredible experience on your next vacation.
