Diving with New Zealand's southern Great Whites

On the 1st of December, the summer shark diving season in Stewart Island opened. With 13 years experience, here's why I think it's an unforgettable adventure.

December 1, 2022
The southern summer shark diving season starts on the 1st of December.
The southern summer shark diving season starts on the 1st of December.
Photographer:

Most divers look forward to summer because of long sunny days and warm clear water but for me summer is the time to head south, to colder waters, unpredictable weather - and big sharks.

Almost every year for the last 13 years I’ve been heading down to Stewart Island to film White sharks for Shark Week and other shark- themed documentaries, and these are undoubtedly my favourite shoots of the year.

I find White sharks endlessly fascinating; I never tire of being underwater with them. To me they are the ultimate predator left on earth, and diving with a Great White is like stepping back in time, and entering a Jurassic world, with the T-rex of the ocean.

ike any creature the more time you spend observing them the more you realise how much there is to learn. It takes a long time to pick up the subtle nuances of their behaviour, and how they interact with each other.

But what is clear is that White sharks are a favourite with the networks; there seems a never-ending appetite for documentaries on Great White sharks.

Up close and too personal!
Up close and too personal!

Shark Week shoot

A lot of the shark shoots I have done in southern New Zealand over the past 10 years have been for Shark Week, an annual TV event attracting at least 20 million viewers around the world. Their shows can be a little sensationalised, but they do try and incorporate an element of science, and they encourage an appreciation for sharks which has to be a good thing, and they certainly reach a big audience!

Shark celebrities

Over the years some of our New Zealand White sharks have become celebrities in the US, for instance Slash and Phred who have been the stars of several Shark Week shows, and our Kiwi sharks have gained a reputation for being more ‘extreme’!

Unfortunately the emergence of Covid last year put the brakes on a lot of documentary projects around the world making it impossible to head away for any overseas shoots in 2020. But fortunately, even Covid didn’t stop our Shark Week shoots going ahead in New Zealand with a couple of US crews coming down here despite having to quarantine for two weeks. This meant I still got to shoot two Shark Week shows in 2020, and another two this year.

And with the Discovery Channel always looking for different and exciting shark sequences, every year we get to experiment with new equipment and techniques, whether mobile bottom cages, laser measurers, visual decoys or bite-meters!

Ready to dive.
Ready to dive.

Bottom cages

I particularly love working out of the one-man bottom cages as I get to observe and film behaviours and interactions you won’t see from the surface or a surface cage.
Watching these huge animals cruise over the kelp and seeing how they interact with each other is fascinating – and an added plus is they seem way more curious about a lone diver in a small cage on the sea floor, often pausing in front of the cage to eyeball you at close range!

It’s also interesting seeing how schools of Trumpeter and wrasse completely ignore these massive predators, swimming amongst them, aware they are not on the menu. I have even seals come shooting in behind a shark and circle a couple of times before disappearing again…confident that if they can see the shark they can outmanoeuvre it.

Young males

Usually it is young male White sharks that are the most active and inquisitive, which also makes them rewarding to film. We had a day where two of us were on the bottom in separate one-man cages, with eight sharks swimming around and between us. Then a bit of a surge tipped my cage over with me lying horizontal on the bottom. One curious male came over, calmly poking his head in the open top of the cage to see what had happened…no aggression. Just being nosey!

Great white sharks and trumpeter
Great white sharks and trumpeter

Shark cage diving ethics

There’s often debate around the ethics of shark cage diving, but the way I look at it, with around 100 million sharks killed around the world every year, any experience that increases peoples’ appreciation for sharks, and encourages them to vote for protective measures for them, is a good thing.  When people see these apex predators underwater in their own environment it can be a transformative experience, leaving a lasting impression and a newfound interest in supporting shark conservation initiatives.

Ravenous people eaters?

Cages are a sensible option for people wanting to see in safety a White shark underwater. No, they are not ravenous people killers out to get you. But free-swimming with a one-tonne predator that eats marine mammals for a living, is not a risk-free activity. Keep in mind too that shark diving operators have to comply with Worksafe guidelines for ‘adventure activities’; they are not about to throw people in the water with big sharks without any protection!

The author in a bottom cage
The author in a bottom cage

Cage harm?

There is an argument that cages can be harmful to the sharks, mainly because of a couple of videos that went viral of sharks getting wedged into poorly designed cages after being baited in too close. A properly designed cage with restricted openings doesn’t allow this to happen, and on the odd occasion a shark brushes or bumps a cage, it just moves freely in the water column.

Having spent hundreds of hours underwater with White sharks in all sorts of different filming cages, I know they don’t crash mindlessly into things. When they choose to investigate a cage it’s on their own terms; brushing up against a smooth aluminium cage doesn’t bother them a bit.

Baiting?

The same goes for baiting. Very little is needed to get sharks to come around, and they will often show up before there’s any bait in the water out of simple curiosity. Really, the sharks are there for the seals, and a bit of tuna is just a side snack!

Make no mistake, these are very big animals.
Make no mistake, these are very big animals.

Shark Week charters tend to be expensive and complicated ventures as they require specialist filming cages and lots of equipment. But for recreational divers wanting to experience cage diving with New Zealand’s Great Whites, a tourist shark cage dive operator runs day charters out to Stewart Island from Bluff.  

Getting there

It’s a long way down to travel there if you live in the north, but seeing White sharks underwater is unforgettable, an experience I would recommend every diver try at least once in their life!
Editor's note:
Consider visiting SharkExperience.co.nz to start your own trip research.

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Dave Abbot

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