What is the Bull Shark Dive in Playa del Carmen, Mexico?

Two types of dives guarantee you see a bull shark in Playa del Carmen: feeding and observation.

I’ll talk about both of these in more detail, but essentially, the observation dive only allows you to sit and observe the sharks, whereas in the feeding dive, the sharks are attracted via food.

I am lucky enough to work with these sharks every week on feeding dives. Before starting this job, I believed all feeding interactions with animals were unethical. The truth is that the line between ethical and unethical is a little blurry, and sometimes human involvement isn’t the worst thing. Below, I share facts about the feeding dive, so hopefully you can answer this question for yourself.

History of the Playa del Carmen Bull Shark Dive

Every winter, bull sharks migrate from up north to the warmer waters of the Riviera Maya. 

Bull sharks are one of the only sharks that can survive in both fresh and salt water. This means that they birth their pups in the brackish mangroves. The shallow mangroves create a sanctuary for the tiny, defenseless baby bull sharks until they are big enough to enter the open ocean. 

Scientists are still trying to find where exactly the sharks give birth, but they know it is somewhere in the Riviera Maya area. They are also researching why they return to the same birthing area every year. 

There are many questions about bull shark migration, which we are still studying today! 

Bull sharks have been returning to this area fr as long as we know. Diving with them started about thirty years ago. Turning this site into a dive site was actually a conscious effort from scientists and conservationists. It serves not only as an eco-tourist dive site, but also a site for researchers to collect valuable data which helps us to better understand the species.

Shark Point is the name of our dive site! 

Fishermen have been coming to this area for decades to clean their daily catches. Over time, the sharks learned to associate boat engines in this area with an easy snack.

Unfortunately, the fishermen also have a history of fishing the sharks for food. Twenty years ago, bull sharks were severely overfished, causing the population to be at critical levels. In an effort to save the species, divers, researchers, and conservationists stepped in to create a sustainable tourist experience. 

Learn more about the organizations working to save our sharks here!

How does diving help save the sharks? 

Dive shops and the Mexican government worked together to bring back the population of bull sharks in the Riviera Maya. Essentially, they struck a deal with the fishermen to stop fishing bull sharks. 

The Mexican government gave special licenses to eight dive centers in Playa. These licenses allow these dive centers to conduct shark feeding dives. In exchange, dive operators must give a percentage of their profit to the fishermen.

This supplements the fishermen’s loss of profit from not feeding the sharks and ensures they uphold their promise to not fish bull sharks.

All other dive shops are only allowed to conduct observation dives. This means they dive the same site, but are not allowed to feed or interact with the sharks in any way.

Bull shark feeding dives follow strict rules:

• Divers aren’t allowed to be in the water for longer than 30 minutes. This applies to observation and feeding dives alike. 

• Feeders must be trained and follow a strict code of conduct, including being knowledgeable about shark behavior. 

• Feeders are only allowed a limited number of fish per dive. This keeps the sharks from ever getting a meal from the divers. Instead, they only receive enough to be interested in staying around for observation. 

• All divers (including feeders) are only allowed to touch the sharks as an act of self-defense. We do not encourage handling the animals whatsoever. 

• All feeding shops are given designated times when they are allowed to feed the sharks. This serves two functions:
  • 1) It protects the appetites of the sharks and ensures they are not overfed by people, accidentally making them rely on us as a food source. 
  • 2) It gives times for the observation dives to take place because the sharks are still interested in the easy food that was recently around.  
• All professionals actively report any misconduct that is committed. This holds everyone accountable to follow the rules. 

Isn’t feeding wild animals unethical? 

Yes. Typically. However, this dive was born out of an effort of conservation, and dive centers still must follow very strict rules regarding shark interaction. 

If, for example, we noticed a change in behavior from the bull sharks, we would need to adjust how we conduct this dive. For the moment, we haven’t noticed any change in aggression, feeding amounts, or hunger levels. Most importantly, we haven’t noticed a change in migratory pattern. Because their behavior is still consistent with how it was before the introduction of feeding dives, the Mexican government and biologists continue to encourage bull shark diving in Playa del Carmen.

Which is more ethical? Feeding or observation dives? 

There is the argument that both dives are equally ethical… and that both dives are equally non-ethical. I have my own opinions, but let’s look at those facts, and you can decide. 

Diving with bull sharks started as a way to save the species and further develop scientific research. 

These sharks already associate boat engines at this site with free scraps of fish.

Without the presence of food, the sharks wouldn’t frequent this site. This is not a nursery site or cleaning station.

That means that without human involvement (fishermen or feeding dives), the bull shark observation-only dives would simply cease to exist. There would be no way to guarantee the sighting of bull sharks in the area. 

However, we cannot ignore that when someone’s job is to hand-feed a 600lb lethal animal, they might have a bit of an ego. As much as shark handling is regulated and educated, there is bound to be some misconduct when handling wild animals. This is usually seen in excess touching or “putting on a show” for the tourists. 

My final thoughts: 

Personally, I love the shark dive. It truly is an experience you can’t have anywhere else in the world. It is not perfect. There is always room for improvement. But, the intimate involvement of the Mexican government is crucial for keeping this dive focused on conservation – not solely profit.

It is also my personal belief that without the feeding dives, there would be no option for observation dives, making it so neither type of dive can be more “ethical” than the other. They both benefit from the exploitation of sharks.

But the tourism industry is ultimately beneficial to the shark population. If you want a more chilled dive just to watch the sharks – shoot for observation. If you are looking for sharks to be much closer to you and see them engage in a feeding behavior – book the feeding dive.

I will leave with this question, you can take for your next animal interaction excursion: 

At what point is our behavior a sacrifice for conservation or scientific research, and at what point is it harmful to the animal?

You can be the most responsible tourist by doing extensive research on the activity and the impact we have on the environment. I am not a supporter of many animal interaction-based activities, but I think sometimes, when done right, it can be a tremendous benefit.