Proposed Marine Park
Since Aqua-Trek began offering the shark encounter, the Fijian village that holds customary fishing rights to the area has agreed to protect the site and turn it into a marine park with a small entry fee that goes back to the village. Aqua-Trek shark encounter is one of the most exciting, rewarding, and educational experiences offered in the sport of diving.
Recent shark specials on television have contributed to disproving the theory that sharks are just mindless eating machines, and people now travel the world to dive with and photograph sharks. We are offering you the opportunity to dive with these magnificent creatures. Divers can see for themselves why sharks should be more respected than feared. Repeat divers learn more about them each dive and never fail to be humbled by their presence.
The shark dive takes place on the mainland side of Beqa Passage. The dive depth is 80 feet (25 meters), and lasts about 20 minutes. Divers are not in a cage, but situated on the reef around the perimeter of the dive site.
Aqua-Trek is committed to sustainable ecotourism and we are constantly exploring new ideas to make this commitment stronger in practice. Our success depends on maintaining a pristine natural environment both underwater and above water as well as providing local villages a way to continue their traditional Fijian lifestyle by offering income opportunities.
Our proudest achievement in Beqa has been the establishment of a marine park. After successful negotiations with the village which owns the reef, we now have an arrangement that is beneficial for both the villagers and the divers who come to enjoy the richness of the underwater environment. The reef is off limits for fishing, and the villagers receive a small levy for each person diving on the reef.
The number of fish has bounced back quite significantly and the village is able to earn income from sustainable tourism.
Aqua-Trek Beqa pioneered the shark feeding dive in Beqa Lagoon in order to be able to study these magnificent creatures up close. Sharks often evoke fear, but our eight years in feeding them without a single incident shows that this fear is not justified. The feeding program has made the sharks accustomed to human presence which in turn has offered divers unparallel opportunities to observe, photograph and videotape sharks in their natural environment.
The fish we feed to the sharks comes from Fiji Fish, a factory specializing in highest quality of seafood. An added benefit to the feeding program is that it keeps the factory fish scraps away from the refuse site and brings them back to the food chain. The shark encounter is only a part of the superb diving in the area; feeding also brings in a large number of other fish in the area. The regular feedings have created one of the healthiest fish stocks in the lagoon.
Do a dive that’s different. A dive that will not only give you lasting memories for a lifetime but will provide assistance in terms of the preservation and conservation of Beqa Lagoon’s marine park and its marine biodiversity.
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