Marine Image Header

"The best thing working with Steve is, his knowledge about the animal behavior, about the dive sites, about security, and particulary for pros, how to keep big and expensive housings safe on the boat!" - Daniel Boelho

Catshark Diving

Experience the beautiful and playful small endemic sharks of False Bay. These playful sharks can only be found in South African waters and are a must see for the sharks diving enthusiast. The kelp forests around Cape Town are full of these little sharks and are a delight to dive with. There are 3 common species that can be enjoyed. The smallest is the puff adder shy shark, followed by the affectionate leopard cat shark and the largest is the pyjama shark, reaching 1.5m.

The day with us

We will meet at 8am at the decided slipway and launch shortly after a quick briefing.
Once arriving at the dive site of choice we will place bait (sardines) on the sea floor and let the little sharks come into the area. We will kit up and descend into their world.

Dive specifics

What does the day include?

• A qualified guide (Tour guide and Dive Leader)
• One guided SCUBA dive
• Water and sweets on the boat
• Dive briefing

Cost: R600 per person (excluding dive kit). Full dive kit can be rented at an additional cost of R350.

Frequantly asked questions

Is it safe to dive with Catsharks?

These adorable small sharks do not posses to jaws to cause any damage. These sharks mainly feed on crustaceans, cephalopods and polycheates and have dentition for crushing. These sharks generally ignore divers which allows for some great close interactions around bait. This dive takes place deep within a kelp forest so there is no threat of bait attracting Great white sharks. This is a special dive that all shark enthusiasts should do.

Where ?

False Bay, Cape Town, South Africa

When ?

All year

Dive type ?

Freedive or SCUBA dive.

How deep is it?

8 – 12 meters

Is this a baited dive?

Yes, we will use a small number of pilchards to attract catsharks into the area

Water conditions ?

Winter (May to July) is dominated by strong North West winds which causes the best visibility (8-20m) but the coolest temperatures (10C-16C)
Summer (mid-October to mid-February) sees strong South East winds which cause the water to warm up (15C – 21C) but become dirty (2m – 10m)

Dive time?

60 minutes, you are welcome to continue snorkelling

Species that may be encountered

Sharks
Spotted gully shark
Puffadder shyshark
Brown catshark
Pyjama shark
Leopard catshark
Sevengill Cowshark

Endemic fish
Red roman
Red steenbras

Other
Cape fur seal
Hagfish


Photos

Catshark

Back to top