Diving with Sharks

Husbandry staff at The Living Planet Aquarium dive in with the sharks once each month. The purpose of the dive is to give the tank a thorough cleaning. The diver scrubs the sides and uses a special gravel vacuum, which is basically a larger version of the plastic tube you would use to clean out your fish tank at home. Because of the tank's resident damsel fish, who like to build burrows, the gravel must be redistributed evenly along the bottom. This causes some upset feelings on the part of the fish, but they quickly get over it and build new burrows.

The 75-degree water feels colder than it sounds. Because of this, the diver will wear a wetsuit. Divers sometimes use SCUBA gear, but more often use a hookah system because it is less cumbersome. A hookah is a surface air supply system, which consists of an air compressor that sits outside of the tank and a long air hose with a regulator (mouth piece) on the end that the diver takes down into the water. There are always two people involved in the process: one diver and one spotter. The spotter keeps an eye on the air supply, hands tools to the diver, and ensures the diver's safety. All staff who dive must first have an open water diver certification. They must also learn the proper protocol for tank dives, go through a skills training program, and learn how to maintain the equipment, a duty of every diver.

But wait, there are sharks in that water! Although many fear sharks, that fear seems to come mainly from fiction rather than fact. In reality, there are fewer humans attacked by sharks than people struck by lightning. Many of these incidents would have been avoidable given a little education. Sharks, like any other animal, can become scared and aggressive if they sense they are in danger. To prevent this, the divers are very careful to avoid bumping into the sharks. They keep track of where all of the sharks are and avoid swimming, as the movement of their arms and legs could easily result in accidental contact with a shark. Instead, they walk along the bottom, held down by weights on their belt and ankles. No diver at the aquarium has ever been bit by the sharks. In fact, the sharks don't seem to care much when the divers are in the tank. If a shark gets in the way of a diver's cleaning efforts, the diver gently pokes its tail, and it swims away. It's the turtle they have to watch out for. The sea turtle who lives with the sharks is very curious and has been known to nibble on the air hose, which the spotter must watch out for.

The divers can see out of the viewing window into the aquarium, although being underwater, they cannot hear anything. If you happen to be at the aquarium when a diver is in the tank, go ahead and wave. The divers enjoy this unique opportunity to communicate with visitors from behind the glass.

Shark Tank sponsor

The Green Sea turtle is proudly sponsored by Tracy and Haydn McBride in memory of Kendall J. McBride.