Six Gill Shark Territory Dive Site

Dive Type: Six Gill Sharks

Six Gill sharks are prehistoric monsters that usually live at great depths, thousands of feet below the surface. They are rarely seen by recreational scuba divers.

For some unknown reason, these 2 – 3 meter (6-15 foot) long sharks slowly cruise the shallows of Flora Islet during the summer months. They can typically be found at depths between 20-30 meters(60-100 feet)swimming along the wall's edge.

If you are an intermediate to advanced scuba diver wanting a unique experience, then dive here for your chance to swim with these elusive light grey 6 Gill Sharks.

The sharks aren’t known to bite, but they are still sharks so be careful, and the depth of the drop-off and the currents combine to make this a somewhat advanced dive.

On the dives at Flora, divers are directed to swim slowly along the ledges on the sides of the reef that drop into deep water. The optimum depths for sightings seems to be in the 60 to 100ft range. The operators estimate that if a diver does 4 or 5 dives over a weekend at Flora Inlet they are likely to see one or more sharks.

The Sharks themselves tend to approach divers from behind. This may be to avoid the brightness of divers lights to which their deep water vision is very sensitive. It may also be a predatory tactic although there is no awareness of any aggressiveness that has been displayed towards a diver. Either way it is a little disconcerting to see a large Sixgill shark materialize in your peripheral vision. Sixgills move very slowly and having sated their curiosity they generally move away at a leisurely pace. On some occasions they have been known to circle divers repeatedly before leaving.

Address
Flora Islet, Hornby Island

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