Diving With Great Hammerheads, Bimini, Bahamas.

Diving with hammerhead sharks, bimini, bahamas. — Undoubtedly the most recognizable silhouette in the world-the Hammerhead shark. Seen below is the common, and ever-present Nurse shark.

March, 2017.

A little over a decade ago it was discovered that Great Hammerhead sharks, particularly females, aggregate at Bimini Island in the Northern Bahamas during the winter months (December-April). Since then Bimini has become a shark diver’s pilgrimage. You’ll get consistent, close-up encounters and long bottom times with these elusive sharks. And you can also expect Nurse sharks to join the mix, and maybe (hopefully) even some Bull sharks.

“You should’ve been here three weeks ago” could be the story of my life it seems. Up to nine Hammers and Bulls on every dive. Although I came primarily for the Hammers, I was just as excited at the prospect of seeing the Bulls in the Marina, snorkeling with them in the cage at the Harbour, and having them join our dives. But prior to my arrival, a Bull shark was fished out, dragged up onto a beach just south of the Marina (Bimini Big Game Club) and clubbed to death. The offender was reportedly not from Bimini but the resourceful locals decided to fillet the shark anyway. Sharks are protected in the Bahamas but enforcement can be the bottleneck.

The next day the Bulls vanished. All of them. The stress phermones released by the shark, and the rotting remains act as a repellant for other sharks. None has been seen since in the Marina, or even on the dives. Even a fish head hanging on a line from a boat, offered as a test, just ended up rotting off in three days. And then I was told that someone killed another one toward the end of the the week while I was staying there. Heartbreaking, and especially so considering that the Bahamas is a Shark Sanctuary whose slogan is “shark capitol of the world”. However, a local told me to give it a month or two, and they’ll return. The Hammers also seemed a little “jittery”, as we were only getting from one to four different individuals on a dive. But this was thought that it might be a response due to the recent spear gun tagging activity by the Bimini shark lab.

diver with hammerhead shark at Bimini Bahamas. — A Hammer circles around for another go at the bait station. For those without a camera, a length of PVC tubing is provided as a barrier. But this is more of a safety precaution, giving you a buffer in case one ended up in your personal space by accident. Gloves are also worn as a precaution to prevent “contrasty” hands from being confused with bait. These sharks never made anyone feel uncomfortable, let alone show any form of aggression. In reality, they were more wary of us. You are asked to remain 5 ft away from the sharks, with no touching.

We dove with Vince and Debra Canabal of Epic Diving. The day begins typically by meeting at the Big Game Club (on North Bimini) docks at noon and motoring out to the sand shallows just Northwest of South Bimini. Once in the shallows, you chum and wait for the “big shadows” to appear. Nurse sharks were always the first to show up (and the last to leave), but you’ll know when a Hammer shows up. This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours, depending upon the currents dispersing the chum slick. When I asked which other species have show up-other than bulls and Hammers- they said that they’ve only had one Tiger in four years, and even then it was just passing through. The dives took place in only 20-40 ft of water, at 79 deg.F, which means lots of bottom time and bright conditions. When you finish your tank you can ascend, rest and warm-up, then grab another tank and go back down. And you will want another dive, no matter how cold you might feel! Being with these majestic animals is truly a privilege and a magical experience.

Debra and Vin at the bait crate. Naturally elusive and cautious, they have to be baited to bring them in. Many of these same sharks repeatedly return to bait stations and become tolerant of divers. They’re identifiable by tags, individual irregularities, and personality. The most frequent ones have been named after Greek Gods by Shark Lab, such as Gaia, a 13 footer shown here. Tagging has shown her to migrate as far North as Charleston, South Carolina. She has made several annual migrations to Bimini.

Hammerhead eating bait at provisioning station. — Vin tosses a fish chunk to Gaia, one of their favourite Hammerheads. The amount of fish they actually receive from the feedings are in reality only a tiny fraction of their daily food intake, the equivalent of a “snack”. So it’s thought not to effect their health or large scale behavioral patterns.

Hammerhead shark feeding, Bimini Bahamas. — Eye to eye with a Great Hammerhead. For how big they are, it’s surprising how cautious and gentle they were. The Nurse sharks were never far from the crate, hoping to score a scrap.

Due to its vulnerability to depletion, poor survival on catch & release, and a high value for the fin trade, the Great Hammerhead is listed as endangered on the IUCN redlist. Education is key to saving sharks, and I think that responsible ecotourism, such as this, is one part of that equation. The more people that dive with sharks, and share photos, the more it can dispel the popular myths that do them injustice. Then hopefully, people will become more sympathetic to their plight. As more and more divers come to see sharks, and spend money locally, then the more it gives incentive for the locals to protect sharks and their environment. And this is particularly true in the outer Islands where poverty is more common. Simply put, sharks are worth more alive than dead-$113.8 million USD annually to the Bahamian economy (1).

A fair question to ask though would be if this feeding, or “ecotourism provisioning” as it’s called, affects the large scale movements of sharks. The research to date, at least on Tigers sharks, shows that this is not the case (2). However the effects that provisioning might have specifically on the Great Hammerheads of Bimini is currently under research by SharkLab in collaboration with Neil Watson’s Bimini Scuba (3).

Hammerhead shark at Bimini Bahamas — Meet Amphitrite, the second biggest female at Bimini (11-12 feet). The “hammer” (or cephalofoil) helps to increase the shark’s predatory efficiency. It increases the surface area for the electroreceptors (ampullae of Lorenzini) that help it to locate prey, especially its favourite food the stingray, which often hides buried in the sand. It also gives the shark a 360 degree field of view, and help it to “turn on a dime”.

Great Hammerhead Shark, Bimini, Bahamas. — Look closely and you can see the scar that remains from a fish hook in the lower jaw of Amphitrite. Vital Heim, an MSc student at Sharklab Bimini, told me that he saw her the day before and after this happened. Sharks have an incredible healing capacity, but the mechanisms are still inadequately documented. He hopes to document her progress on a weekly basis to help gain a better understanding of this healing process.

Close pass by a Great Hammerhead shark at Bimini. — Iso 640, f/7.1, 1/200 s, 9 mm wide angle lens (18 mm equivalent). The Great Hammerhead is a very cautious and discerning predator. When the dive was concluded, and the bait box removed, I knew that the shark would eventually return looking for another snack . So I waited near that spot, with the camera at the ready. Here’s the approach of Amphitrite…

Tips: What you need to know before you go.

The weather (wind) is more unsettled during the winter months here, with January and February (I was told) being the most unpredictable. So make sure you have Insurance specific to lost diving days due to bad weather. The usual rule of thumb is to count on missing one day per week, but I lost 2 out of 5 days due to high winds in March. The dives are valued at $300-400 USD per day (non-refundable), so having weather specific dive loss coverage is very wise in addition to DAN medical insurance. There’s little else to do on Bimini on these “down” days except for maybe some bike riding (included with stay at Big Game Club), beach walking or a visit to SharkLab (which will take a couple of hours in total and requires the ferry ride back to South Bimini and a $10 US donation).

You will get more opportunities with a wide angle lens than a fisheye, for which you have to get really close. Use a shutter-speed of at least 1/200 s for sharp photos. The sand is so fine that it’s almost like a silt, and is easily disturbed. Vin believes that the sharks are more active in the afternoon, so your day may extend to near sunset.

You take a waiting taxi from the airport on South Bimini to a ferry over to North Bimini to the Big Game Club ($7 per person each way).

Lunch on the boat was included and usually consisted of a sandwich, chips and some days additional fresh baked goods. Peanuts and chips for snacks. Water and lemonade is readily available and a water bottle provided.

Seasickness medication is recommended for those that need it as the boat is often anchored and rocking for long periods while the chumming process takes place.

There is a restaurant on site at the Big Game Club, a great bakery across from the resort (A Taste of Heaven Bakery), and liquor and very basic grocery stores are close by. We also tried the nearby Bimini Blue Water Resort Restaurant that is not well marked (closed on Tues/Wed), but worth the trip, and quieter. Food comes by boat to the island once a week so certain items may become in short supply at the end of the week. The island is famous for its sweet Bimini Bread. Also try to remember you are on island time.

We met a couple in our group that had negotiated just the diving for the week and then were able to secure cheaper accommodations a few minutes from the Big Game Club, which saved quite a bit of money over the package price. The Big Game Club was well cared for and it was handy to be right by the boat. The other option is a liveaboard, such as Dolphin Dream. Neil Watson’s Dive shop is on site at the Big Game Club.

There is a ferry from Miami to the island, or Silver Airways flies direct from Fort Lauderdale or Miami to Bimini. On our flight over we had to gate check our carry on and could only bring on a personal item. This is when a 4/3 camera comes in handy. Be prepared in case you may have your camera gear in your carry on. On the flight home we were able to bring on our carry on. A few friends did not have their checked luggage make their return flight and received it a few days later. This can make for some tense moments when you have an expensive DSLR camera and underwater housing.