When Life Gives you Lemons . . . You Know it’s Time for a Shark Dive!

A friendly lemon shark takes a close pass in front of my dome port.

Winter diving in Jupiter brings adrenaline-pumping excitement as divers are afforded the opportunity to experience our annual lemon shark migration. While it is possible to see lemons year-round on our reefs and wrecks, they come in far greater numbers in the winter months - peaking in January.

Lemon sharks are unique in many ways. The easiest way for me recognize them from afar is the fact that their second dorsal fin is almost as large as their first one. They have a yellowish tint to their skin (hint: that’s why they are called “lemons") and they are one of the few species of sharks that can pump their own gills to breathe. Since they don’t have the need to constantly swim, you can oftentimes find them resting in the sand along the reef. Over the past summer we had a large resident lemon that was seen on almost every dive on Breakers, just chilling in the sand alongside the loggerhead turtles!

It is true, lemon sharks have a yellowish tint to their skin, hence the name.

If you’re coming to Jupiter to dive in the winter, then you must do at least one trip out to our locally famous site: “Lemon Drop.” Depending on the captain and the conditions, we also have a special Kyalami twist, another site called “Lime Drop” just to mix things up a bit. On our Kyalami boats we don’t bait in the sharks, but with lemon sharks there is truly no need to. Sometimes just the commotion of divers giant striding into the water is enough to grab their attention. They are naturally very curious animals and have been known to come in quite close- an ideal situation for us underwater photographers! I personally have found them to be far less shy than other species we see here in the winter, such as bull sharks that typically keep their distance or the even more elusive great hammerhead shark.

Picture Perfect

A lemon shark comes in just close enough for me to light it with my strobes and nail the shot. Grateful to dive buddy Ted for the behind-the-scenes shot of me in my element.

Just to give you an idea of how close they can get . . . I think this one wanted a kiss!

The dive site itself is fairly deep - 90ft + in the sand, but we will typically hover at around only 60ft and the lemons will actually come up to that depth to check us out. This not only increases our bottom time but also allows for better interactions in the water column.

It is not uncommon for lemon sharks to follow you up to the surface. This not only makes for more entertaining safety stops, but also allows for some great photo ops with the natural light.

When winter diving in Jupiter, an outing with lemon sharks is truly an experience you don’t want to miss. So what are you waiting for, book your Lemon Drop adventure with us today!

Safe Diving,

Grace