Blacktip migration

[Ramon Corrêa]

I'm thinking about going to Lauderdale by the sea today for a dive. However, my fiance and dive buddy is concerned about running into the migrating sharks.

We are planning on swimming to the third reef. Do you think we will run into them?

 

[DanBMW]

More then 10 years ago, several of us were diving off of Tarpon Springs, Fl., in the Gulf of Mexico and later learned that 1,000's of Black Tips were pictured doing the same thing and throughout multiple dives, none were seen by us that day. We were also spear fishing.... I would not worry about it. Maybe you'll get lucky and see a few.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

I'm thinking about going to Lauderdale by the sea today for a dive. However, my fiance and dive buddy is concerned about running into the migrating sharks.

We are planning on swimming to the third reef. Do you think we will run into them?

May I ask what the concern about them seems to be?

 

[Ramon Corrêa]

May I ask what the concern about them seems to be?

I think it is just a little bit of fear of the unknown. She is a new diver, and has seen only nurse sharks so far... I think the idea of being surrounded by more aggressive looking sharks... I think it is just too soon for her. Either way, LBTS was wonderful, and the sharks were pretty far out so we didn't see them.

 

[tekkydiver]

I'm thinking about going to Lauderdale by the sea today for a dive. However, my fiance and dive buddy is concerned about running into the migrating sharks.

We are planning on swimming to the third reef. Do you think we will run into them?

No, most likely not, they are very skiddish. Maybe if you catch a Bluefish, filet it and let is dangle behind you

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

No, most likely not, they are very skiddish. Maybe if you catch a Bluefish, filet it and let is dangle behind you

Yes,you are very right. Black tips are quite skittish and just the sound of finning can scare the away. I have been in the water with 8 visible to me and surely ore around me. The scram rather quickly which is a shame because they are beautiful to watch.

 

[drbill]

In my experience, black tips are not a very aggressive species so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Now if you see a tiger or a bull, that might be a different story!

When I was very young (early 1950s), we lived in the vicinity of Jacksonville Beach. After two years there, often on the beach and in the water daily, Mom found out about the shark migrations and was a bit unnerved. I was little more than a mouthful in those days, but we never saw them in the shallow waters we frequented.

 

[tekkydiver]

Yes,you are very right. Black tips are quite skittish and just the sound of finning can scare the away. I have been in the water with 8 visible to me and surely ore around me. The scram rather quickly which is a shame because they are beautiful to watch.

One of the reasons they are so skiddish is there are large bulls lurking. They feed of the spinners

 

[RickI]

Just saw your post. I grew up diving off Ft. Lauderdale, dozens of dives year round over decades and I never even knew a blacktip migration existed in those times. Looking into things in more recent years, they mate off Broward and Miami-Dade following arrival in the fall and before heading up to the Carolina's to pup in late winter,early spring. For some reason they are more obvious on the way back up north in some areas depending on water temperatures and other factors. Heading up to Delray Beach up to Singer Island and beyond, hundreds sometimes show up within 20 ft. of shore and are fairly obvious. We see them kiting at times off Hillsboro Inlet, see below from this time last year, but are usually more obvious further north. btw, I thought I might catch some sharks on my kite-mounted camera and was riding in areas around the break where they congregate hoping to shoot some. Despite that I never saw any sharks while kiting during that session. Sometimes they will jump and spin, just not this time.

Did you mean you were swimming to the second reef, not the third? The second reef off Commerical Blvd. has some east and west facing ledges and further out, large pothole formations in the reef at around a .6 mile offshore. That later features can be in around 18 to 30 ft. of water. Most divers are pushing it to make the second reef ledges much less the potholes lugging tanks. There can be some strong current on the swim as well. The third reef is a different matter all together. The third reef starts at around .8 miles offshore east of a wide sand filled lagoon starting at around 45 ft. and dropping down to 110 ft. at 1 1/3 mile+ from shore. High currents are common out there as is coast-wise shipping. That is large vessels who have a hard time seeing much less stopping for a few divers around a dive flag. If you have issues with sharks, you will likely find them out there independent of the blacktip migration. I've been beach diving all over the area since 1971 and wouldn't readily consider swimming out to the third reef. I have swum out to the outer second reef (pothole area) for free diving routinely however. I used to do scooter beach dives to the significantly closer third reef and 110 ft. contour off Deerfield Beach back in the day with a 120 cft. tank. It was fun and relaxing but nothing for newer divers or those without suitable gear. I wouldn't swim off the beach without a scooter to the closer third reef off Deerfield either. There is just too much that can go wrong and dealing with it without a boat problematical.

I'm thinking about going to Lauderdale by the sea today for a dive. However, my fiance and dive buddy is concerned about running into the migrating sharks.

We are planning on swimming to the third reef. Do you think we will run into them?