Where to dive with tiger sharks

What they are

Tiger sharks are recorded up to 550 cm (18 feet) long. The body is grey with darker vertical bars or spots on the sides and a pale underside; the markings are clearest in young sharks and fade with age.¹

It has a reputation for eating almost anything.¹

Where and when divers see them

Tiger sharks live in tropical and temperate waters around the world, except the Mediterranean. They use shelf, reef and slope habitats and tend to favour murky coastal water. They are often seen at the surface and are commonly found around 100 metres, and the Florida Museum reports them at depths of 350 metres.^1,3

Tiger sharks move from the tropics into temperate waters in the warmer months and return in winter. Long thought to be solitary nomads, they were found to be social in a University of Miami-led study at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, where operators attract the sharks with chum; at these provisioned sites the sharks gathered more, but their interactions became more random.^1,2

Conservation status

The tiger shark is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, in an assessment by Ferreira and Simpfendorfer published in 2019, and its population trend is decreasing. This is reported in a New York State species status assessment that cites the IUCN listing.³

How to behave around them

The Florida Museum describes the tiger shark as a formidable predator that should be treated with extreme caution and a great deal of respect. Codes of conduct developed with dive operators and authorities in Fuvahmulah, Maldives, set out rules for the baited tiger shark dives at Tiger Harbour there, including these.^1,4

• Stay at least 5 metres from the sharks, with no touching, chasing or harassing.⁴
• Kneel on the seabed rather than swimming around, and keep watching the sharks at all times.⁴
• Do not block a shark's path or approach from above, and avoid sudden movements.⁴
• No flash, strobes or video lights.⁴
• Wear a dark, full exposure suit; a hood and gloves are recommended.⁴
• No hand-feeding by guides or divers, and guests do not handle bait.⁴