The Bait Ball
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
Not a place but the event every expedition chases: a sphere of sardines herded to the surface and held there by common dolphins, at which point the ocean's food web arrives all at once. Gannets fold and hit in white columns, copper and dusky sharks rise through the core, seals strafe the edges, and a Bryde's whale may take the whole ball in a single engulfing pass. Swimmers work the perimeter on snorkel — fast, close to the guide, hands to themselves — and drop to scuba only on a stable, long-lived ball. Events last minutes to hours, and no operator can conjure one on demand.
The moment you come for: The full predation event — dolphins, sharks, gannets, and whales on one sphere of fish
Topography: Wherever the predators pin the sardines — open water, no fixed location
Current: The ball itself moves — driven by dolphins from below and wind from above; swimmers reposition constantly.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Feeding sharks and lunging whales in zero-structure open water; positional awareness is the entire safety plan.
Conservation: The event is natural predation; the ethical duty is simply not to disrupt it — no swimming through the ball, no blocking the dolphins' working lanes.
Who you'll meet
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★★ · Macro: ★☆☆☆☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting