It is rare to sight Grey Nurse sharks in our local waters, so you can imagine the surprise and the delight when a diver encountered not one, but seven of this beautiful species.
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On Sunday March 30, Ric Carey dive master with Merimbula Divers Lodge
was leading a group of divers exploring one of their favourite dive sites - The Cave.
The Cave is located about 1km south from the southern headland of Twofold Bay, Eden.
“After all the rain during the previous week, the visibility was reduced to about 10m metres,” said Michael Standen, of Merimbula Divers Lodge.
“As Ric entered the cave, he found himself nose-to-nose with seven Grey Nurse sharks including one big male over 3.5m in length.”
While these beautiful animals used to be seen fairly often, they have only been seen once or twice here in the last 15 years.
“So we are really excited to see them here again,” Mr Standen said.
Over the years, Grey Nurse sharks have been hunted almost to extinction. “They had an undeservedly fierce reputation mainly because they look dangerous. However, grey Nurse Sharks are one of the more docile shark species and, unless provoked or threatened, are pretty harmless,” Mr Standen said.
Ric had this to say about the encounter: “Rarely in my 30 year career in adventure recreation have I had such a privileged experience as today’s dive.”
