Swimming with Nurse Sharks & Keys Shark Diving

20th of July 2013; Shark Aid International went on a wonderful snorkel trip with Keys Shark Diving. It was a trip that served two purposes; of course to swim with sharks and also to establish a partnership between our two organisations for future work and trips together, for both us and anyone wishing to explore the amazing reef and swim with some Nurse Sharks, and various other marine life - the trip was a great success!

On this snorkel trip, 3 and a 1/2 miles off Marathon in the Florida Keys, we shared the water with all kinds of wonderful and spectacular wildlife! We saw Grunts, Snappers, Rays, Parrotfish, and of course SHARKS! We also saw a juvenile Cuttlefish and some beautiful and healthy reefs!

Then after the array of marine life, the Nurse Sharks arrived. Ranging in sizes from a tiny 3 feet to a large 8/9 foot big shark. They were all very docile and so beautiful under the water, swimming peacefully and gracefully the entire time. It seems like the 'big boys' of the group are in charge (when are they not?) because not long after they arrived, the smaller ones left the spot! They were around our location for 3/4 hours during our snorkel, which was amazing because they provided us with some really nice footage and photos.

Nurse sharks sometimes get a bad wrap for not being as 'exciting' or 'cool' as the other species,
but we were very excited by their presence and we find them extremely cool!

We then went to another location; deep reef. We waited patiently for an offshore deep sea shark and were happily surprised by what joined us, the tiniest baby Reef Shark any of us had ever seen! While we waited for other sharks to turn up we saw some other amazing animals and some in particular being Sunfish! Incredible!

As mentioned earlier, the trip served two purposes, and the final one was to establish a partnership between Shark Aid International and Keys Shark Diving. Be on the lookout for unique and tailored shark trips to reefs with Nurse sharks and offshore trips with Bull, Tiger, Hammerhead sharks and more! We will be working together to show you sharks in their natural habitat, whilst educating those who are new to them and maybe helping already shark enthusiasts learn some more about each species and get them out with these incredible animals! We are currently in the process of working out the details to make sure each trip is exciting, fun, informative and educational. For more information links are provided below.


See you in the water!


Written by Susana - US Coordinator, Shark Aid International

For more information and booking please email us at: sharkaidintl@live.com
Be sure to visit Keys Shark Diving's website too! www.keyssharkdiving.com