Your time on the boat is dependent on the weather. We try and make at least 3-4 trips out to sea per week between our cage-diving and research boat, sometimes daily trips if weather and time allows.
This is dependent on your University’s specific requirements for accreditation but, yes… it is possible to complete this as an internship/field work experience and obtain credit points towards your degree.
We offer you at least four shark cage dives in one month.
We have White Shark viewings all year round but our high season generally falls in our winter, which is June, July and August. Other sharks can be found all year round, we are still in the process of learning about the best times to experience different species.
You will often be asked to speak to the tourists before and after the trip, and ask them to fill out a questionnaire to contribute to our social perception study.
When at sea on the tourist boat you will be helping with collection of our daily monitoring data, including taking dorsal fin ID photographs. You will learn how to record data, how to identify individual sharks, how to determine different behaviours and how to estimate size. Volunteers also play a role when in the cage by determining whether the shark is male or female.
You will not in any regard replace a member of staff by dealing with the tourists whilst on shark cage diving trips, or by having to clean the boat or wetsuits after a trip, for example. However, we do encourage you to chat with the guests to educate and promote awareness about Great White Sharks, our research and our shark conservation initiatives when the opportunity arises.
On the research boat we conduct two different types of surveys: controlled angling surveys and baited remote underwater video system (BRUVs) surveys.
During controlled angling surveys you will learn ethical angling and handling of different shark species, what measurements to take when catching sharks, how to tag sharks and how to take genetic samples. During BRUVs surveys we drop down our BRUVs rig, leave it for a period of 30-60 minutes and analyse the videos on shore later.
Some days are long and some much shorter. We often have quite an early morning start but some days you will be finished with your tasks for the day by lunch time. Other days we will spend all day at sea, and on no-sea days we will work on processing the data or go on various different excursions. You can expect to work 5-8 hours a day.
There will be some lectures during your time here, and some months we have guest speakers who will come in and speak to our volunteers.
We generally judge the time off by the weather. When the weather is bad, you will have time off and the opportunity to do other activities and explore. Should you be lucky enough to have good weather for the whole time you are here, we will give you days off each week and we are very happy for you to take a day or two off if there is something specific you want to do or go to see.
There are no vaccination requirements as the Western Cape is far from all malaria zones and there are no strange diseases in the area (given you respect the safety rules as anywhere else in the world). Some travel sites recommend you have your Hepatitis A, Typhoid and Hepatitis B, but this is at your discretion as it is not a specific requirement to enter the country and is not required for the programme. However, we suggest you speak to your local healthcare practitioner and decide accordingly.
Please bring any prescription medication that you require, otherwise no specific medication is required. If you want to bring some standard headache tablets etc. with you that is fine, but such medication is also available here from the local pharmacy. The only thing to ensure you bring with you is some sunscreen.
All food basics are provided in the house for you to make your own breakfast and lunch, including milk, tea, coffee, sugar, cereals, fruit, bread, eggs, cheese etc. We also provide some ingredients to assist with your dinner meals and will provide dinner for you two to three times a week. Any luxury items and additional items you want to add to your meals will need to be purchased by yourself. We encourage a social environment in the house and suggest volunteers take turns to cook.
All volunteers are housed in our volunteer house, which is located in Kleinbaai, minutes away from the ocean and roughly a two minute drive or a ten minute walk from the harbour where we launch.
The house is spacious with two large living areas, a large kitchen, and a balcony overlooking the ocean. Volunteers will be put into single sex rooms with two to four volunteers per room. There are plenty of bathroom facilities and we also provide satellite TV, laundry facilities and a daily cleaning service.
Yes, unlimited WiFi is available in the volunteer house.
No, we have wetsuits for you to use here on the cage-diving boat and can also provide all the equipment needed to go snorkelling. Should you want to go diving you will need to rent the additional SCUBA gear, which we can help organise for you. If you would like to bring your own dive gear, for example your own suit, mask and fins, that is also fine.
In winter, it is important to bring layers and warm clothes as it can get quite cold at sea and at night. It is important to bring a waterproof jacket and trousers to wear on the research boat, and please bring old clothes that you don’t mind getting fishy!
Our current research projects are primarily long-term monitoring projects, which means that some of the shark research volunteer activities and data collection methods will remain consistent throughout your time with us. Repetition is an important part of scientific research. Collecting information in the same way over long periods allows researchers to identify patterns, compare results and build reliable datasets that can contribute to a better understanding of sharks and the marine environment.
As a volunteer, you therefore shouldn’t expect every research day to involve a completely new task. Some shark research volunteer tasks will be repeated because consistency and accurate data collection are essential to the work that we do. However, this does not mean that every day will feel the same.
The longer you stay with us, the more opportunities you will have to experience the full range of our shark research volunteer activities. Marine research is heavily influenced by nature, weather conditions, shark activity, current research priorities and the opportunities that arise while you are here. No two weeks are exactly alike, and no two days at sea are ever quite the same.
A longer stay also gives you a greater chance of encountering different sharks and other marine species. Wildlife is unpredictable, which is one of the things that makes working in the marine environment so exciting. Some days may be busy with shark activity, while others may provide completely different observations and learning opportunities. Over time, you will also become more confident with the research methods and begin to understand why the information you are collecting is important you start to understand how your contribution fits into a much larger shark conservation and monitoring effort in South Africa
As your experience develops, you may find that tasks that initially seemed simple become far more interesting because you begin to recognise individual differences, patterns and changes in the marine environment. Rather than simply completing a task, you start to understand how your contribution fits into a much larger research project.
Alongside our long-term monitoring work, we often have smaller or short-term research projects running at different times of the year. The exact projects available will depend on what our research team is working on during your stay. These additional projects can provide volunteers with exposure to different areas of marine research and conservation and add further variety to the programme.
Our volunteer experience also extends beyond research at sea. We undertake different outreach, conservation and community education activities throughout the year. These activities vary from month to month and provide another side to the programme, allowing volunteers to experience how research, education and marine conservation work together.
One of the benefits of staying for a month or longer is that you are not simply visiting for a few days and seeing a snapshot of the programme. You have time to become part of the team, improve your practical skills, gain a deeper understanding of the research and experience the natural variation that comes with working with wild animals.
It is also important to remember that genuine marine research is very different from a scheduled tourist activity. We cannot manufacture wildlife encounters or guarantee that a particular species, project or activity will happen during a specific week. What we can offer is the opportunity to become involved in authentic, ongoing research and conservation work in a dynamic marine environment.
For volunteers who are genuinely interested in sharks, research and conservation, the repetitive elements of data collection are usually balanced by the constantly changing environment, wildlife encounters, additional projects, outreach activities and increasing level of experience gained over time.
In fact, many previous volunteers who initially wondered whether staying for a full month would be too long have told us the opposite when it was time to leave — one month went far too quickly!
