Reef Sharks

A common sighting around the fringing reefs of the Whitsunday islands is the Reef Shark. There are numerous types of reef sharks including the white and black tip species, and both of these are non-aggressive towards humans.

Reef sharks are notoriously timid as they dart around the reefs and even in the shallows close to the shoreline on Whitehaven Beach where a sighting is almost guaranteed.

Seeing one or a group of reef sharks is often a very exciting experience for visitors in the Whitsundays, and it is certainly a great marine species to observe in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The best opportunity to view these great creatures up close and personal is while snorkelling or scuba diving around the islands or the outer reef, and they are mostly found among the corals during the day.

Reef sharks enjoy the warmer waters and feed on smaller fish species as well as crustaceans and can grow some 2 metres in length.