Diving with Grey Nurse Sharks ( Carcharias taurus ): Diver Motivations and Behaviours

Summary Over the past two decades, Marine Wildlife Tourism (MWT), focusing on megafauna, such as whales, sharks, and manta rays, has become an increasingly popular activity. Such MWT, including shark diving tourism, is often heralded as a flag for shark conservation activism. The large, but placid Grey Nurse Shark ( Carcharias taurus )—sometimes known as the sand tiger or ragged-tooth shark—is an ideal species for such MWT, providing opportunities for SCUBA divers to interact with sharks without the need for protective cages. Indeed, diving with Grey Nurse Sharks (GNS) has become a popular attraction in Australia and is now a multi-million-dollar industry. In this context, this case examines the characteristics and behaviour of divers at the important aggregation site of Flat Rock, North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, Australia. Understanding diver motivations and behaviours is critical in informing best practice shark diving operations, including the design and delivery of communications that influence human behaviours, minimise wildlife impacts, and enhance pro-conservation outcomes.