Saturday, October 06, 2012

Sharks in Nouméa!


Great stuff!

As I said, the Kiwi GWS are traveling right now.
Along with Fiji, Tonga and Oz, one of the destinations is New Caledonia where a particularly lucky diver was able to snap this great image in 2007 - here's another one!
Case in point, this recent encounter with a GWS in the very same (!) pass of Dumbéa right outside of Nouméa. From what I can discern, this is a popular surfing and kite surfing spot that is also being frequented by divers and by spearos. One of those had just shot a fish when he saw the dorsal fin and back-pedaled to his boat where a couple of friends managed to haul him aboard. The Shark stayed with the boat for 5-6 minutes and is believed to have been 4.50-4.80m long.
Update: the Shark has been identified, see comments section!
Enjoy!



New Caledonia also boasts a healthy population of other Sharks.
Friends tell me about having encountered Tigers and Bulls, along with several of the smaller Carcharhinids. I went rummaging and found this clip of a Tiger devouring a deer smack at the entrance of Nouméa harbor.



And here is an encounter with approx 40 Sharks feeding on something resembling some sort of a bait ball (?).
And yes you guessed it: the Baie de Saint Marie is in Nouméa as well! The story mentions Lemons and Greys - but to me, they frankly look much more like Sandbars which are certainly present there.
JSD - any opinion?

Anyway, enjoy!



5 comments:

jsd said...

Agreed.
Oh to have been there with a mask and fins!

Horizon Charters Guadalupe Cage Diving said...

Fine research sir, indeed!

DaShark said...

Thank you sir! :)

And I can tell you more!
Clinton Duffy informs me that he has identified the GWS as being

STWI 1126, a mature male photographed by Peter Scott, Shark Dive NZ, at Edwards Island, Stewart Island, New Zealand on 26 May 2011

There you have it!

OfficetoOcean said...

A GWS on Shark Reef, surrounded by Bulls would basically be the greatest diving highlight ever for me.

It's going to happen next time I'm there ;)

DaShark said...

Yeah it sure would - for me, too!

And.. if u swear to deliver, we'll even consider letting you come back! :)