Shark Cage Diving

How Shark Cage Diving Works

Requirements & Safety

No diving qualification is needed. The cage is clamped to the side of the boat and floats at the surface, holding a few people at a time. You breathe at the surface and duck under when the spotter calls that a shark is coming in. Operators supply a thick wetsuit and a mask and explain where to keep your hands and how to signal. Age limits differ between operators, and children must be with an adult. Guests who prefer to stay dry can watch from the deck, and the bronze whalers are often easy to see from there, since they tend to arrive in groups.

Season, Wildlife & Conditions

Boats from Gansbaai leave from Kleinbaai harbor, about two hours’ drive from Cape Town, and anchor near Dyer Island and Geyser Rock, home to a large colony of Cape fur seals. Trips run through the year when the sea allows, and crews may change times or cancel at short notice because of wind and swell. Great white numbers here fell sharply after two orcas, known as Port and Starboard, began hunting the sharks. Research published in 2023 showed that much of the population had shifted east along the coast. Mossel Bay, on the Garden Route, also has cage-diving operators. Bring motion-sickness tablets, warm layers and sun protection.

Ethics & Choosing an Operator

Cage diving works by attraction. Crews pour chum, a mix of fish oil and flesh, into the water and pull a bait line past the cage to draw the sharks in. Permit conditions do not allow the animals to be fed. Good operators let no one touch the sharks, keep the bait out of their reach and follow the local regulations closely. Choose a company that is honest about what you are likely to see, keeps groups small and has trained guides on board to explain shark behavior and biology. Both the great white and the bronze whaler are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.

Gansbaai is on the Whale Coast, and from about June to November many visitors pair a morning at sea with whale watching from the cliffs at Hermanus.