Sharks of the Maldives
08 Aug 2020Sharks are high on the wish-list for most scuba divers visiting the Maldives – here are some to look out for while diving with Prodivers:
- Grey Reef Shark – They have a white tip on their dorsal fin and a black tip on their tail fin, reaching up to 2m in length they cruise around in groups where there is current – at the corners and channels
- Black Tip Reef Shark – brown in colour with a black tip on all fins, they reach a maximum size of 1.5m. Babies inhabit the shallows near the beach and when they get older they can be seen on the reef tops where they hunt for small fish
- Nurse Shark – A yellow-brown colour all over and reaching a length of up to 3m, they are commonly seen in overhangs or sleeping under large coral blocks
- Silver Tip Shark – Reaching 3m or more they are large dark grey sharks with a torpedo-like body shape and fluorescent silver tips on all of their fins. Seen at while diving deep in the channels with scooters in strong currents
- White Tip Reef Shark – A long slender shark with white tips on all fins, this species reaches a maximum length of 2m. They like to lie on the sand and take a rest, which makes them easy to spot
- Lemon Shark – Light brown in colour with a grumpy looking mouth full of teeth! Lemon sharks often have an entourage of several yellow pilot fish swimming alongside hoping for some leftovers from the lemon sharks meals
- Guitar Fish – Commonly called ‘guitar shark’ due to its fins making it look like a shark, they are actually rays and have a mouth on their underside with an overall shape like a guitar
- Zebra Shark – Their beautiful spotted pattern often leads people to call them leopard sharks however the stripes they have as babies is where they get their name
- Tiger Shark – Reaching up to 6m in size, these sharks have a square shaped head and a very beautiful striped pattern on their sides. Although sightings are quite rare, they have been seen at several of the larger channels
- Great Hammerhead Shark – These weird-looking sharks can reach 5m long and have a very wide, distinctive head shape
- Whale shark – The biggest fish in the sea, reaching up to 20m long with a spotted pattern on their sides unique to each individual
Divers who really want to see as many sharks as possible should consider the scooter introduction dive to learn how to operate one of our underwater scooters. It’s easy and with a little practice on the house reef you’ll be exploring the channels in no time and seeing some of the best shark action the Maldives has to offer!
