South West Rocks · Australia · Reef
Shark Gutters
Grey nurse sharks cruising a sand gutter at 24 m
Area photo: Richard Ling · CC BY-SA 2.0
A set of gutters in the rock at Fish Rock, reached straight from the dive boat's mooring, where grey nurse sharks cruise slowly along at an average depth of 24 m. The rock is designated critical habitat for the species and holds sharks all year, and this is the dive most people book South West Rocks for.
Also known as Shark Gutter.
Where it is and how deep
30.9387° S, 153.1008° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site can be accessed right from the mooring and has an average depth of 24 m, so there is no long swim to reach it. Grey nurse sharks are very commonly seen in the gutter, cruising slowly along it, and they are what divers come for — Fish Rock is one of a short list of aggregation sites on the New South Wales and Queensland coasts identified as critical habitat for the species.
The way to dive it is to stay out of the gutter rather than swim down the middle of it. Settle on the rock on either side and you get a panoramic view of the shark action below, and you leave the animals the space they are holding in. Look closely as they pass and the cost of line fishing on this coast is visible: divers who dive South West Rocks regularly report that up to 70 per cent of the sharks there trail hooks.
Background
A series of key grey nurse shark aggregation sites along the New South Wales and Queensland coasts — Fish Rock, Green Island, Julian Rocks, Magic Point and Wolf Rock among them — have been identified as critical habitat and given special protection. Fish Rock is one of about a dozen areas in New South Wales recognised as critical for the shark, and fishing in the vicinity is restricted as a result.
Marine life and season
- Sand tiger sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows South West Rocks: Grey nurse numbers peak Jun–Nov; the Eastern Australian Current brings the warmest, clearest water Jan–Apr.
Know before you go
- Up to 70 per cent of the grey nurse sharks here trail hooks and line from past fishing injuries; stay off them rather than closing in for a photograph.
- The gutter is protected habitat for a threatened shark, so approach along the sides, keep your position steady, and back off if animals start leaving the gutter.
Dive videos
Shark Gutters, South West Rocks 🇦🇺 (#259) · Matthew Brown on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep are the Shark Gutters at Fish Rock?+
The site averages 24 metres and is reached directly from the dive boat's mooring on Fish Rock, so most of the dive is spent at that depth beside the gutter.
How should you dive the shark gutter?+
Not down the middle of it. The advice from the local operator is to refrain from diving in the gutter and to dive either side instead, which gives a panoramic view of the sharks moving along it.
Sources
- Dive Sites | Fish Rock Dive Centre — Fish Rock Dive Centre
- Grey nurse shark conservation — Wikipedia
- Smoky Cape — Wikipedia
More dive sites in South West Rocks
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Wreck
A 1950 motor lighter upright at 87 m, found only in 2009
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