Sharks
Grey Nurse Shark
Carcharias taurus · Cartilaginous fish — family Odontaspididae
Australia's grey nurse is the same ragged-toothed species divers meet on North Carolina wrecks and Aliwal's caves, but its story here is distinct and cautionary. Labeled a killer on looks alone, it was speared toward oblivion by the 1970s before becoming one of the world's first protected sharks. Today small aggregations still trace slow ovals through gutters at a handful of east-coast sites, gliding among divers with prehistoric calm. The listed destinations in this atlas brush only the edges of its range — the celebrated aggregation reefs lie along the New South Wales and southern Queensland coast — so treat any sighting elsewhere in Australia as a bonus, not a plan.
Where and when to see one
"Resident" means most dives at that destination encounter them; "seasonal" means reliably present in the listed months; anything else is a bonus, not a plan.
We have not yet verified reliable places for this species — rather than guess, we leave this empty until sourced.
Understanding them
Habitat: Sandy gutters, bommies, and cave mouths along rocky reefs of the Australian coast; the same air-gulping hover as its overseas populations
Range: Australian name for the sand tiger shark, Carcharias taurus. Two Australian populations: a small east-coast population from southern Queensland through New South Wales, and a distinct, poorly known west-coast population
Behavior: Days are spent circling slowly in traditional gutters and around pinnacles in loose aggregations, mouths bristling, bodies nearly still in the surge. Individuals return to the same handful of sites for years, which concentrates both divers and risk in the same places.
Diet: Reef and pelagic fish, rays, and small sharks, taken mostly at night
Size: typically around 2.5 m; documented up to 3.2 m (total length).
How to behave around one
Australian critical-habitat rules are specific: no blocking gutters or cave entrances, no chasing or touching, approach along the side rather than head-on, keep group sizes modest, and no scooters or feeding at aggregation sites.
Conservation
The east Australian population is listed Critically Endangered nationally, numbering in the low thousands at best; protected since 1984 in NSW, with designated critical-habitat sites carrying enforceable approach rules.
Charted sites known for them
Watch
From the official channels
Best Places to Dive with Whale Sharks
Outrageously Tiny Fish
Sink or Swim? with Monét X Change | Monterey Bay Aquarium
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