This was certainly one of the best experiences I ever had!
Every winter for over 15-20 years now sharks from all around the western part of the Mediterranean sea arrive to a sanctuary and for spending the winter in the warm waters near the Israeli power station in Hadera.
We meet here many Dusky sharks and somr Sandbar sharks but we know that even some rare Hammerheads arrive.
Yesterday was my first time diving and swimming in these shark infested waters and it was a beautiful and amazing experience!
There are some safty rules you should follow and of course never hurt or even tuch the sharks and you can just enter and meet those great animals.
The entrance is free for all and there is noe feeding or anyone managing this point but many organizations help to keep this place clean and safe for the sharks to rest and spend the winter without too much interference.
Today there is still not much information about this and we still don’t know exactly why the sharks are comming here but we know that there are mainly female pregnant sharks that arrive and we can maybe asume that they just found a nice warm spot to spend the winter.
We also know that all species of sharks are protected in Israel and they are not protected in our neghboring countries (Some are even killed ).
I took a few photos of the sharks and I hope you will enjoy it.
They are about 3-4 meters long (for propotion)
hello in my country it is legally forbidden to hunt sharks.but you know selfish people can always do evil in any country.thanks for sharing a nice experience @JoniG
Hey @Gezendunyali
Here it is forbiden and it is not happening.
This is why I think the sharks arrive.
I am happy to hear that other countries have similar laws and hope that it will stop all over the world.
They are very big and can be dangerous but if you stay calm and follow the rules everything is fine.
I never heard about someone being attacked when visiting and following the rules. They did attack twice in the past years, one swimmer that kicked a shark and got a small bite and one sup paddler that the shark attacked the sup only and the paddler was totally safe.
Seeing those sharks so close reminded me of that time I was snorkelling in Fiji on Mantaray Island when I saw what I thought was a log lying deep where there was a sharp drop off. And then I thought the log had protrusions that looked like a shark. Then the ‘log’ moved. Wow! I got such a fright. I back pedalled and scurried away from there as quickly as I could. I was snorkelling by myself that day.
I enjoyed reading your post while having a morning coffee @JoniG . Sharks are an amazing creature. While the risk of being bitten or dying from an unprovoked shark attack in Australia is extremely low it does happen. If interested in shark attack data you can visit the Global Shark Attack File. We have here what is known as the Australian Shark Attack File and on checking this, of all fatal shark attacks, Australia has the highest count (see screenshot below). Shark Attack Data has some interesting tables that show when, where and how shark attacks have occurred and by countries, regions, fatal, non-fatal etc.
I love this information and I loved seeing that in Israel it almost never happened although I believe there are some missing cases (at least one that I can’t see there).
woooow… you were diving that close with these amazing creatures @JoniG … Love all your photos. How deep was that? looks quite well-lit down there and the sunlight makes it even more beautiful. I have met a few black tip before in some of my dives but I haven’t got a good shot of them. I met whale sharks in my recent dive in Gorontalo, Sulawesi and they are just amazing. I will share my experience soon in Connect as well.
you are right… no touch, keep the safe distance and follow the rules, those are the golden rules we all need to remember.
It was a thrilling experience and it is a very special phenomenon that all these sharks even arrive here like this every winter to the same spots.
Today in the same spot there are more than 70 sharks.
I use the Canon G7x with a dive housing and 2 strong flashlights.
The sharks arrive to Hadera and to Ashkelon near the power station every winter. Probably to the hot stream of water cooling the power station to spend the winter in a hotter place
).
