Ultimate Guide to Shark Diving in Oahu: Experience the Thrill with One Ocean Shark Diving

Oahu, known for its stunning beaches, vibrant culture, and lush landscapes, has become a hotbed for adventure seekers looking to take their vacation to the next level. One adrenaline-pumping experience that has gained popularity in recent years is shark diving, and there's no better place to dive into this thrilling activity than with One Ocean Shark Diving in Oahu. In this ultimate guide, we'll explore everything you need to know to make the most of your shark diving adventure in Oahu.

Why Shark Diving?

Shark diving is not just an adventure; it's an encounter with one of the ocean's most magnificent creatures. Oahu's crystal-clear waters provide the perfect backdrop for a once-in-a-lifetime experience with sharks in their natural habitat. It's a chance to witness these majestic creatures up close, debunking myths and fostering a deeper understanding of their importance in marine ecosystems.

The One Ocean Difference:

Choosing the right shark diving operator is crucial for a safe and unforgettable experience. One Ocean Shark Diving stands out for its commitment to environmental conservation and education. Their team of experienced guides ensures a safe and informative adventure, placing emphasis on responsible tourism and minimal impact on the marine environment.

What to Bring

Pack essentials like swimwear, a towel, sunscreen, and a waterproof camera to capture those incredible moments. One Ocean Shark Diving provides all necessary diving equipment.

The Dive Experience:

Once you're geared up and ready, it's time to descend into the underwater realm and come face-to-face with sharks. The dive locations around Oahu offer diverse marine life, creating an immersive experience for divers. From Galapagos sharks to sandbar sharks, each encounter is unique, providing a thrilling adventure for all participants.

Environmental Conservation:

One Ocean Shark Diving is not just about providing a thrilling experience; it's also about raising awareness and contributing to shark conservation. The guides share insights into the importance of these creatures in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem, dispelling common misconceptions and inspiring a sense of responsibility towards marine conservation.

Post-Dive Reflection:

After resurfacing, take a moment to reflect on the incredible experience. One Ocean Shark Diving encourages participants to share their newfound knowledge and passion for shark conservation, fostering a community of informed ocean enthusiasts.

Conclusion:

Shark diving in Oahu with One Ocean Shark Diving is more than just an adventure; it's a transformative experience that connects you with the ocean's apex predators. Embrace the thrill, gain insights into marine conservation, and leave with memories that will last a lifetime. Are you ready to dive into the depths and encounter sharks in their natural habitat? One Ocean Shark Diving awaits, promising an adventure of a lifetime in the waters of Oahu.

The History of Swimming with Sharks – And Why it Matters

While cage-free diving with sharks is a fast-growing industry, with many saying it’s a must to experience in aggregation zones all over the world, it’s a new concept—considering cage diving hadn’t even been attempted until the 1960s. 

Ron and Valerie Taylor, Alf Dean, and Rodney Fox are credited by scubaverse.com as the first to attempt a cage dive around Dangerous Reef and other places along the South Australian Spencer Gulf. 

The idea came from a great white shark attack, reports adventure.com. As Fox was competing to keep his title as South Australian Spear Fishing Champion in 1964, he became the first recorded white shark victim to live to tell the tale. 

“I thought I’d been hit by a train,” Fox writes in his book, Sharks, the Sea, and Me. “My chest was clamped, like in a vice. I was a bone in a dog’s mouth.” 

southaustralia.com

A year later, Fox had the idea: what if people could pay to see white sharks from a cage the same way they would lions and tigers in a zoo? In starting this journey, he also became the first to film great whites underwater, which earned him the job of filming footage used in the 1975 film Jaws. 

“At this time, we had no idea that this movie would give the shark such a bad image,” he said.
In the late 70s, Fox started the first-ever shark cage tours open to the public. 

A decade later, cage diving was practiced sporadically around South Africa’s Struis and False bays, which eventually launched a prominent and competitive touring industry there. 

The first crew to attempt the dive without a cage did so for the National Geographic documentary Blue Wilderness in 1992 off Gansbaai, South Africa. Over a period of six hours, four scuba divers made the plunge among at least seven great whites without the protection of bars. Among these divers were Ron and Valerie Taylor, two of the first cage divers in history. Each of these divers took from this experience, if they didn’t already know, that white sharks had been mischaracterized by media and weren’t as dangerous as they seemed. 

Juan Oliphant and Ocean Ramsey had been diving cage free on their own through the early 2000s, getting to know the sharks off O‘ahu’s North Shore. In 2014, they launched One Ocean Diving, the first educational cage free snorkel program in the United States. 

It was a different climate back then, Ramsey writes in her book, What You Should Know About Sharks. In the early days, it was difficult to get people to want to join them outside of a cage with sharks. 

“When I was growing up, sharks were regularly portrayed as monsters (as sometimes they still are), but it was shocking and very unpopular at the time to hear anyone saying otherwise,” she writes. “There were very few people on the planet purposefully diving with them, especially white sharks.”

Today it’s a different story. People travel from all over the world to experience what the divers at One Ocean do. 

Untwining the narrative that sharks are dangerous and should be killed is valuable not just for the ecotourism industry but for the health of our oceans, Ramsey writes in her book My Shark Teachers.

“If I hadn’t learned from sharks that I can coexist and that I can share a different perspective for them, then we wouldn’t have been able to gain so many supporters that resulted in getting the law passed in Hawaii to legally fully protect sharks,” she writes. “Recently we were also able to be part of getting over 1.3 million votes, within a short period of time, to require parliament to consider banding shark finning in European Union.” 

Like all apex predators in their respective environments, sharks have a keystone role in the ocean. By preventing prey fish from populations from proliferating, they maintain reef health. This benefits not only marine animals but land animals too. 

Cage-free shark diving, with proper education and safety protocol, is not only safe, but it’s even saving lives—the lives of sharks. In this way, it creates a path for healthier oceans. 

What Sharks Do We See?

Photo by nautiluslive.org

Did you know there are 40 species of sharks found around the Hawaiian islands?

You have the chance to see so many different species of sharks when you come on a dive with us! This could include Galapagos, Sandbar, Tiger, Oceanic Whitetip, Oceanic Blacktip, Blue, Silky, Whale, or even a Great White! We haven’t seen a Great White since 2005, so we’re always on the lookout for another one. Whale sharks are more commonly seen on the west side of the island due to the very deep water. The most commonly seen sharks we get are Galapagos and Sandbar. Galapagos sharks average 6-12 feet in length and have distinct countershading. This means they are dark on the top half of their body (dorsal side) and lighter on the bottom half (ventral side). Sandbars average 4-6 feet in length and are a tannish color with white tips on their pectoral fins. We also get Tiger sharks fairly often, even when it isn’t Tiger shark season! Tiger sharks average 10-14 feet and have dark stripes running down the sides of their bodies. Recently, we’ve had an Oceanic Blacktip hanging around during our dives as well! Blacktips average around 6-8 feet and are bronze in color.

If you want the chance to see different species of sharks in their natural habitat, book a dive with us at oneoceandiving.com.