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How To Safely Dive with Sharks
- Curtis Tredway
- Nov 6
- 5 min read
I used to be afraid of sharks. Like most people, I grew up seeing them as something to be feared, omnipresent animals waiting beneath the surface. But as I spent more time in the ocean, that fear started to feel misplaced. I realised it wasn’t sharks that were the problem, it was our lack of understanding.
Once I started studying their behaviour, learning how they think and communicate, and getting in the water with them - that fear turned into fascination.
Today, I’m a Divemaster, Master Freediving Instructor, Spearo, Safety Diver, and Underwater Photographer, and I’ve had the privilege of diving with almost every major shark species - from Leopard Sharks and Whale Sharks to Tiger Sharks, Great Hammerheads, Bull Sharks, and Grey Nurse Sharks.
I’ve guided expeditions all over the world, completed the Professional Shark Safety & Behaviour Management Course by Ocean Ramsey, and learned that sharks are far more intelligent, complex, and misunderstood than most people realise.
Here’s what I’ve learned about how to safely dive with them, how to understand them, and why protecting them matters more than ever.
Understanding Shark Senses
Sharks live in a completely different sensory world to us. The more we understand how they perceive their surroundings, the more we can adapt our behaviour to coexist safely and respectfully.
Sight:
Sharks have great low-light vision and can detect contrast and movement more effectively than detail. Many species are colour-blind or have limited colour perception, which is why high-contrast or reflective gear can attract attention underwater.
Sound and Vibration:
Through their inner ear and lateral line, sharks detect low-frequency vibrations and sounds, including the erratic movement of injured prey. Splashing or thrashing underwater can mimic this signal - something to avoid when diving.
Smell:
Their sense of smell is extraordinary, but exaggerated in myth. Sharks can detect tiny traces of chemical cues, but not from “miles away” as often claimed. Still, blood and baitfish activity can raise their curiosity, so avoid diving near active fishing zones.
They also aren't 'excited' by human blood, as this isn't a part of their diet.
Electrical Sense (Ampullae of Lorenzini):
This “sixth sense” allows sharks to detect the faint electrical fields produced by the heartbeat and muscle movement of living creatures - even buried prey. Research shows some species can detect fields as small as five nanovolts per centimetre, among the most sensitive detection abilities in the animal kingdom (Kajiura et al., 2018, PMC6101975).
Understanding this helps divers respect personal space and avoid behaviours that might seem threatening or erratic to the animal.
How to Dive Safely and Confidently Around Sharks
Once you understand how sharks sense the world, as well as their role in the ocean, the way you behave underwater matters even more. Sharks are typically the 'clean-up crew', they are scavengers, looking for sick, weak, or wounded animals to take care of. You need to adapt your equipment and diving accordingly.
Adapt Your Equipment:
Avoid bright or reflective colours like white, yellow, or metallic finishes.
Streamline your setup - dangling or shiny gear can mimic prey movement.
Keep your Gopro (small electrical signal) close to your body (larger electrical signal).
Adapt Your Movement:
Move slowly and confidently. Splashing or sudden movements can signal panic or prey-like behaviour.
Maintain neutral buoyancy and eye contact when possible. Sharks respect calmness and confidence.
Learn to Read Behaviour:
Most sharks will swim parallel to you, not directly at you - this is a form of investigation, not aggression.
If you notice fast, jerky movements, dropped pectoral fins, gaping, or bumping, it’s time to calmly exit.
A relaxed shark has smooth, steady movement; an agitated shark has tense body posture and lowered pectoral fins (Myrberg, 2007, Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology).
Redirection Techniques:
If a shark approaches too closely, stay calm. Use your fins, camera housing, or hand (elbow locked) to gently redirect its snout away. Do not chase or reach out - your goal is to guide, not challenge.
Environmental Awareness:
Avoid diving in murky water, near baitfish, or where chumming is present unless managed ethically by trained guides. Always have an easy exit route, and dive with operators who understand local shark behaviour.
The Turning Point
The first time I dived with Tiger Sharks, I expected a menacing creature. What I experienced was the complete opposite - calm and curious. They moved slow, deliberate, and impossibly graceful. The more I observed, the more I realised that sharks aren’t unpredictable killers; they’re methodical, intelligent, and sensitive creatures that rely on reading body language and energy, just like we do.
Over time, my fear disappeared - replaced with respect and connection. The more you learn, the more you realise: they are not mindless predators. They are vital to the ocean’s health.
The Role of Sharks in the Ecosystem
Sharks are apex predators - the “immune system” of the ocean. They regulate prey populations, keep ecosystems balanced, and ensure that weaker or sick animals don’t overpopulate. When shark populations decline, it can trigger trophic cascades, destabilising entire marine food webs.
For instance, research has shown that the loss of large shark populations on the US East Coast led to an explosion of cownose rays, which in turn decimated scallop populations - devastating local fisheries (Myers et al., 2007, Science).
Healthy oceans need sharks. But right now, sharks need us more than ever.
The Conservation Crisis
Every year, humans kill an estimated 80 to 100 million sharks — roughly three sharks every second (Clarke et al., 2013, Marine Policy).Meanwhile, sharks kill an average of five to ten people per year worldwide (Florida Museum, 2024).
Let that sink in. We kill millions, they kill fewer than ten.
You’re statistically more likely to die from:
A falling coconut (~150 deaths/year)
Lightning (~24,000 deaths/year)
A vending machine accident (~13 deaths/year)
Or even taking a selfie (~43 deaths/year)
Yet sharks are still feared more than any other marine animal.
Major Threats to Sharks:
Overfishing – Shark fins, meat, cartilage, and liver oil are in high demand. Up to 73 million sharks are killed yearly for the fin trade alone.
By-catch – Sharks caught unintentionally in fishing nets.
Habitat Destruction – Coral reef loss, pollution, and coastal development destroy nurseries and feeding grounds.
Slow Reproduction – Many species take over a decade to mature and have very few offspring, making recovery painfully slow.
Public Perception – Fear-based media depictions harm conservation efforts and fuel shark culls.
Almost one-third of all shark and ray species are now threatened with extinction (IUCN Red List, 2021).
Changing the Narrative
When you finally see a shark up close, the fear disappears. You notice the intelligence in their eyes, the precision in their movements, the way they navigate effortlessly through the blue. You begin to see how deeply misunderstood they are.
The ocean doesn’t need us to fear sharks - it needs us to understand and protect them.
By choosing ethical, conservation-focused tourism, we can support local economies, promote awareness, and shift public perception. The more people who experience sharks respectfully, the fewer who will want to harm them.
Dive with Us
At Deep Sensations Freediving, our expeditions are built around education, safety, and respect for marine life. Whether you’re snorkelling with Leopard Sharks in Byron Bay, freediving with Whale Sharks in Ningaloo, or swimming with Tiger Sharks in the Maldives - our focus is on understanding, not exploitation.
You don’t need to be a professional diver. You just need curiosity, courage, and a love for the ocean. Join us.
Learn about the animals that keep our oceans alive.And maybe, like me, you’ll discover that the thing you fear the most can become the thing you love the most.
Our Upcoming Expeditions
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