Shark Diving Without a Cage: Destination Fiji

Dropping to 100′ to meet the sharks

Beqa Island, Fiji

When thinking of shark diving I always had the concept of descending in a secure cage, well protected from the man-eating creatures of the deep that have been feared since the beginning of time.

Like many, my first exposure to sharks was the movie “Jaws.” Since then when is it that you hear about sharks?  When people get attacked! So they must be terribly dangerous and life threatening, right?  Well that’s what gives adrenaline junkies like me something to challenge.

When considering diving with sharks and purposely seeking them out, purposely getting as close to them as possible I took solace in the fact that all shark attacks I heard about were surfers or swimmers. I have never heard of one on a SCUBA diver.

On my journey through the South Pacific I planned to do as much diving as possible and sure enough prior to arriving in Fiji I had seen some grey tip and white tip sharks in my vicinity but not really up close.  If you are not familiar with your sharks; grey tip and white tip sharks are on the small side and pretty docile.

Along the way I overheard another diver talk about the world’s best shark diving experience in Fiji.  Since Fiji was still ahead of me I started doing my research.

The World’s Best Shark Diving Experience

Fiji has set up the Shark Reef Marine Reserve and there is one official dive operator authorized to conduct dives there called Beqa Adventurer Divers.  While fishing is prohibited, feeding of sharks is modus operandi and while there are questions as to whether this is a moral practice or not, there is no solid evidence to date to show that it is harmful to the sharks or dangerous to humans.

This marine reserve is frequented by 8 species of shark including Whitetip Reef Sharks, Blacktip Reef Sharks, Grey Reef Sharks, Tawny Nurse Sharks, Sicklefin Lemon Sharks, Silvertip Sharks, Bull Sharks and occasionally Tiger Sharks.

All this combines to truly make it a world famous shark dive location and arguably the best in the world.

A bull shark swims directly at me after a big bite of shark food

Taking the Plunge: Face to Face with the Sharks

A 45-minute boat ride out to the reef adds to the excitement of the occasion. During the ride out we get the lowdown on the dive from the dive masters.  It is a well-orchestrated affair and in that way very different from any other SCUBA diving you have done.  The group is large; about 15 divers on each of 2 boats.  Geared up and ready to go we all take the plunge at the same time and immediately descend 100’ where there is a ledge on the coral wall looking out on sandy yet deeper bottom.  We have been instructed to knell on the ledge and not to move.

There is one dive master per 5 divers located behind us with 4 foot steel rods that they use to ward off any overly curious sharks.  Within a minute of getting situated a couple of large garbage bins lowered on large lines from the boat above full of shark food are opened right in front of us.  The sharks appear out of nowhere.  First we see the smaller black tip and white tip sharks but it does not take long before the nurse sharks and larger bull sharks appear as well.

The shark food is dumped literally a few feet from our faces and the sharks are swarming.  The beasts don’t seem to mind our presence in the least and they do not seem at all scary.  A few times though I did have to quickly jerk my head back to keep from getting sideswiped by the tails of the sharks as the turned away from me.

After several minutes of this one dive master started hand feeding the bull sharks.  They would come one after another just taking turns.  The visibility was not great the day I was there so a the sharks approached it was not easy to spot them until they were pretty close to the “bait” yet they were swimming straight for me so they became larger and larger making it quite a sensation. They opened their mouths wide to inhale the “bait”, teeth looming large in front of me.  It was a very exhilarating experience to say the least.

After 20 minutes we were repositioned to a nearby location at a 30-foot depth where more shark feeding took place.  Once again we were positioned in one spot for good viewing and safety.  Only during the repositioning did we get to move around much so don’t be expecting a diving experience to see all of your surroundings.  This diving adventure really is all about getting up close and very personal with the sharks.

Getting up close and personal with big sharks off of Mana Island, Fiji

A Different Shark Diving Experience: Mana Island, Fiji

A week after my unforgettable dive at Beqa I found myself on a great little island an hour from Nadi, Fiji called Mana.  On Mana there is a great place called the Ratu Kini Backpackers and Dive Resort. My first order of business upon checking in was to seek out the dive master.  They had a shark dive here as well but it was notably different from Beqa.

Here they took us out and also used shark food to attract the sharks but it was a much less structured event.  Here there were no bull or tiger sharks but only the smaller black and white tip sharks and grey reef sharks.  They were very plentiful though.  Here we got to swim more freely with the sharks.

Personally I am glad I did both dives as they provided very different experiences.

Things to Know

For the Beqa diving experience go to Beqa Adventure Divers website and book early. If you are an adventure traveler like me your scheduled time in Fiji may be limited.  They do not operate tours every day and they are usually fully booked by the day of the tour.  They do require a deposit but they also fully refund the deposit if you have to cancel provided you cancel early enough.

A great place to stay for Beqa that is not mentioned on the Beqa Adventure Divers website is called the Beachhouse Fiji.  Although it is an hour away from Pacific Harbour it is a much less expensive option than the hotels there and it offers nice rooms and great facilities.

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