Diving with Silvertip Sharks
Large Reef Dwellers
This large, bulky shark is part of the well-known requiem family of sharks, as are its cousins the reef sharks. It is distinguished by silver white marks on its fins and can grow up to 10 feet long. Silvertips are considered a somewhat aggressive species as it must compete aggressively with other sharks for food. Their diet consists of coral reef dwelling bony fish, smaller sharks, and even eagle rays and they are known for their unique behavior of running their prey up before eating them.
As they eat mainly reef occupying species, silvertips are only found in the warm tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Since they spend most of their time around offshore islands and coral reefs they are spotted by scuba divers fairly often. If you want to encounter these slick swimmers on your next dive vacation, explore the map below to find the best places around the world to dive with silvertip sharks.
Dive Sites with this Animal View more on map
★★★★★ Beriyan Kuda Thila
Because of its current, BKT is reserved for experienced divers or is dived in times of low current. Not far from BBT, the rock rises to a depth of 16m. The south side has a nice plateau at 25m and then drops off steeply to 40m. Cleaning station for gray reef sharks!
★★★★★ USAT Liberty Wreck
This is the only historical shipwreck in Bali, ranked #3 in the world for Wreck diving! The wreck is 25 meters form shore at a depth of 4 to 29 meters below the surface with most of it occuring in a shallow area. This dive site does not have strong currents, has clear water, and warm temperatures. Difficult entry!
★★★★☆ Colosseum
Colosseum is located on the west side of the island of Thulusdhoo. At the corner to the channel there is a large indentation in the form of a Roman amphitheatre at approx. 20m. This form is the epitome of the dive site and, at the same time, a meeting place for many marine creatures.
★★★★☆ Catalinas Island, Clásico
11 km west of Potrero and Flamingo is the famous site of Clasico. This dive is done on the western side of the islands, from the south towards the north. There are successive ripraps. Several ways to dive possible, depending on certification level. From 10m to more than 30m.
★★★★☆ Rangali Madivaru
Rangali Madivaru (Madi = Manta, Faru = long Reef) is a manta cleaning station located in the channel at approx. 9 meters on the edge where the sloping bottom meets a plateau reef. This dive site is best visited during the manta season when the current is outgoing, otherwise when the current is incoming.
★★★★☆ Kandooma Thila
This “Thila” is in the middle of the kandooma kandu. From 2000 to 2009 this dive site was ranked world 10th place of shark diving. The top of the reef is full of hard corals. The sides of the “Thila” are covered with soft corals. The currents are strong here and highly recommend for Advanced and Nitrox divers.