With the first dives done in August 2000, this month marks the 20 year anniversary of our extremely popular, PADI recognised shark dive experiences. The dive team have proudly received a 20year trophy of recognition from PADI for hosting the experiences.
Over the years the team have hosted thousands of dives. Taking our daring divers for the ultimate experience – getting face to fin with huge 3 metre long sharks!
How dives change
A lot has changed in the 20 years since we first started offering dive experiences. Initially, Blue Planet Aquarium offered ‘Discover Scuba Dives’ experiences. We’ve expanded our repertoire of courses to welcome both qualified and beginner sessions for juniors and adults!
- Divers as young as 8 years old can now book onto our Junior Shark Encounter. Which are PADI certified ‘Bubblemaker Dives’. Teaching juniors how to dive. Then jumping in with Stingrays, Black Tip Reef sharks, Wobbegongs and Zebra Sharks!
- Qualified PADI Divers can skip the training and jump into our incredible 3.8 million litres tropical tank! We also work closely with some amazing PADI dive centres. Enabling club members to enjoy the experience on trips too.
- Blue Planet Aquarium is excited to start offering a ‘Project Aware Shark Conservation’ course. For those divers who want to learn more about shark biology and the conservation threats to sharks in the wild.
Joe Cross, Dive Officer said:
“We love to introduce so many new people to diving. Many of them go on to dive regularly as a hobby or even take it on professionally. The ultimate career change! We’ve been very fortunate to meet so many amazing divers and shark ambassadors over the years too.
“We are very proud to say that 20 years on, our Shark Dives are still incredible experiences, with nothing available across the UK quite like the experience we offer!” Joe added.
As a centre for conservation and education, Blue Planet Aquarium work to raise awareness of UK based shark conservation charity, Bite Back, which brings to the surface the threats facing our ocean’s most loved predator. Discover more about Bite-Back.
Interested in learning more about Blue Planet’s dive experiences?