At the end of January, Ziggy.Camp's Whitney visited the Shark Lab in Bimini, Bahamas with Eckerd College. The Shark Lab is world renowned for its research on shark behavior - and its researchers are often a contributors to Shark Week! If you are into sharks, this is the place to be! Enjoy Whit's guidance if you are looking for adventure . . . with teeth!
I visited the Shark Lab with my college, where we participated as interns for 5 days. The Shark Lab will have six universities live on site throughout the year. Otherwise, volunteers will apply to help conduct research for three months at a time. But, a visit and tour is also available for the casual shark enthusiast. The visitor tour features an area with baby sharks and sometimes stingrays. Participants can hold both lemon and nurse sharks. Holding a baby shark, you use a very... VERY light hold. How does the shark not swim away?? I don't know, but they were very chill. ( https://www.biminisharklab.com/opportunities/publictours )
For the brave at heart, there is also diving with the large sharks, available in the area. This is a great place to dive with adult sharks because they are prevalent in the area (code word for you are almost sure to see one!!) There are dive shops on North Bimini that will take you to all the areas that I experienced through the Shark Lab. One you may check out is Neal Watson's Bimini Scuba Center ( https://www.biminiscubacenter.com/book ). The Bimini Hammerheads are a big attraction - after all, don't we all want to swim with hammerhead sharks?! Both Bimini and The Shark Lab try to balance - and even merge the environment for the tourists and for the sharks. For example, Patel, a volunteer at the lab, is researching how tourism affects the behavior of hammerheads. First, they know the best hammerhead experience for tourists is during the winter months in Bimini. Patel's research also tracks how the sharks learn from the tourist experience and how to have the tourists safely interact with the sharks. His research shows that the sharks stay near the dive area and know that it is feeding time when the boat arrive. Bait is thrown into the water; as the sharks catch the scent, tourists and researchers pull on their gear and hop in. Usually, the nurse sharks arrive first. Then, the hammerheads slowly take over the water. I was able to do this dive once. Our group attempted to dive with hammerheads two other times, but bull sharks showed up. Originally, we were told that if bull sharks appear then we will observe against the boat so that we would only have a 180 view. However, that day the bull sharks seemed too hungry for us to stay in the water (don't mess with a hungry bull shark), and the visibility was poor, which could allow a shark to pop up without warning. Hammerheads and bull sharks are not the only shark action near Bimini. Another shark attraction is the reef sharks. In this area, we tossed in chum and watched the reef sharks fill up. Once all the sharks were fed, we were able to hop in! This was my favorite shark experience because they were swimming all around us. Although it was intimidating at first, I truly felt connected with the ocean on this swim.
The Sepona is a shipwreck not far from the island. It was used in WWI but ran ground. Then in WWII it was used as target practice for planes. Although there is not much left of the ship, you are able to swim through the frame. Stingrays and other fish call the Sepona home. It is a beautiful option for a dive or snorkel.
There are non-diving options as well. Honeymoon island is a small island nearby overlooking some of the bluest ocean water in the area. This is a perfect place to feed stingrays at this beach! After 20 to 30 minutes of feeding, some baby sharks might pop up and check out the hype.
Bimini is definitely for a water-focused vacation. The land is not very developed, and land activities are limited. (Of course, that is what makes it a perfect place to see marine life uninterrupted). There are a few resorts in the area. But, for a local Bimini experience feel, I would suggest The Dolphin House. ( https://www.facebook.com/dolphinhouse242/ ) This museum is completely made up of material from the island and the surrounding water. Ashley Saunders built this house in the 90s as a tribute to the dolphins of Bimini. He continues to add to the masterpiece. Daily tours are available, but you can email him to rent rooms during your stay. Getting to Bimini can be difficult because it is such a small island. Small planes come in and out of Miami (30-45 minutes flight), and there is a daily fairy (2 hours from Miami). Many people visit Bimini by going on live-aboard boats. If you take that option, please consider making a special effort to support the Bahamas economy and fund for shark conservation through day trips and donations. Bimini is a beautiful location to enjoy close interaction with marine life. Be safe, enjoy, and bring your own re-usable straw.
