Additional White Shark Protections Have An Unexpected Consequence

Great white shark diving season in San Francisco kicks off Saturday, September 28th. Our one-day California cage diving adventures depart from San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf and continue on select dates through mid-November. Space is still available and no dive experience is necessary.

If you've always wanted to dive with great white sharks in San Francisco, this is the year to do it. This will most likely be the last year we offer the popular California shark adventures. We're tired of having to battle government regulators for the right to operate our educational shark trips.

For the last several years, our shark adventures near the Farallones have been conducted under the terms of an education permit issued by NOAA. This year, we also had to obtain a permit from the State of California's Fish and Wildlife Department.

Environmental groups Oceana and Sea Stewards succeeded in getting white sharks declared a candidate for California's Endangered Species List. They didn't realize that by protecting white sharks, they'd be endangering our educational shark viewing tours by giving another government agency the ability to prohibit our cage dives.

As long as white sharks remain on California's Endangered Species List, it is illegal to "take" a white shark within the State of California, unless you have been granted an "incidental take permit" by California's Fish and Wildlife Department. Anyone who "takes" a shark without a permit could face criminal prosecution.

California defines "take" as: hunt, pursue, capture, catch or kill or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch or kill.  Based on that definition, Fish and Wildlife Department employees have determined we might be "taking" sharks during our shark expeditions.

The agency's permitting coordinator warned us that a shark attacking our decoy or brushing against our boat could be considered "illegal take" by their enforcement and legal team.  She strongly advised Incredible Adventures to apply for an "incidental take permit" in order to avoid the risk of criminal prosecution. 

Both California's Fish and Wildlife Department and NOAA have promised we'll have permits allowing the use of a decoy in time for our first trip. (They denied our request to use the same attractants permitted in South Africa and Mexico.) 

California's Fish and Wildlife Department is inviting the public to comment on the white shark's status as an endangered species. You can find more information here.

If you'd like more information on our 2013 San Francisco shark dives, call Sheri at 800-644-7382 or visit our website.

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