Scuba diving with Caribbean reef sharks in Roatán

I returned once again to Roatán, this time joining a trip organized by Scuba Getaway, the group travel sister company of Toronto Scuba Centre.

Every year, they include a shark dive in the package, for those interested in getting face-to-face with some Caribbean reef sharks.

Regardless of where you’re staying in Roatán, most dive resorts and centres will offer a shark dive, and these almost always take place at the same dive site: Marco’s Place, also known as Cara a Cara, literally “face-to-face”. Which is what you’ll be with some curious and friendly Caribbean reef sharks.

I’ve always been dubious about these dives because of the chum they use to attract the sharks. I strongly believe that scuba divers should observe underwater life without interfering with it, and only engaging with animals in very specific circumstances and when the animal initiates contact. But I decided to go on this dive and experience first-hand before making any judgement.

Marco’s Place dive site is located on the south side of the island, opposite Coxen Hole and the airport, about 3km off shore. Most dive resorts partner with an operator right in Coxen Hole that organizes the shark dive. They’ll shuttle you by land the Coxen hole where you’ll then be briefed on the dive and hop onto the dive boat. They explained that while they do bring chum down to attract the sharks, it’s a small amount that doesn’t really amount to a feeding. So the sharks can’t become dependent on the food they receive.

The sea around Coxen Hole can get quite rough at times, so be prepared for a bumpy ride of there’s wind, and think about taking some sea sickness pills. We had very choppy water, so many of us were questioning the decision to go on this dive. Once at the dive site, we raced to do a backwards roll off the boat to escape the waves, and descended to about 20 metres/60 feet and calm water.

You’ll start the dive lined up with your backs against a coral ledge. This ensures that once the sharks start coming around, you get to enjoy them in front of you, instead of them lurking behind you. The dive lead comes down with a bucket containing a small amount of chum and a noisemaker to start calling the sharks.

Once about 10-15 sharks show up, you’ll be invited to come away from the ledge and float amongst the sharks. They’ll curious swim in and around you. While this may seem daunting at first, these sharks are really quite harmless and never appear threatening.

After a good while, you’ll be asked to go back against coral ledge for the final part of the experience. Once safely in position, the lead will open up the bucket of chum. This is when the sharks really get excited and start plunging head first into the bucket to get a tasty treat. This will last a few minutes until there’s nothing left.

In the process of attacking the bucket, the sharks will naturally shed some teeth. Once the sharks dissipate, you’ll have a few minutes to scrounge the sea floor for some shark teeth to take home as souvenirs. (If you’re doing this dive in the afternoon and you’ve been doing some morning dives, just beware that you may be approaching your no-stop limits at this point.)

The lead will then call the dive, and you’ll start your ascent along the mooring line, complete your safety stop and board the boat.

After experiencing the Cara a Cara shark dive first-hand, I have to admit it was quite thrilling. Not once did I feel uncomfortable or anxious around the Caribbena reef sharks, despite a few of them swimming directly to me before veering off. They’re just big, curious fish. This was definitely one of the more memorable experiences of the trip, and yes, I’d likely do it again if I had the opportunity. While I’m still not in love with chumming the water, I did feel it was done as responsibly as possible. And it lets countless scuba divers experience the wonder of sharks and turns them into ambassadors for this very important apex predator.