Shark Bank — Mahé | scubaSeason.fun

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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Mahé location page.

Overview

Offshore granite outcrop rising from 30 m to 8 m below the surface. Top draws schooling yellowtail barracuda and snapper; deeper edges bring eagle rays and the occasional whale shark on the seasonal migration. Current can be ripping.

What you'll see

4 species curated

Whale shark
seasonal
Peak: Sep · Oct · Nov
Schooling yellowtail barracuda
year-round
Eagle ray
year-round
Stingray
year-round

Sightings evidence

1 record on file

Whale shark
medium confidence
Last confirmed
Nov 2025
Recent records
45 within 25 km
Cluster months
Sep, Oct, Nov

Sources & methodology

How we summarise this

We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.

Sources

Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
Wildbook (Sharkbook, Whale Shark, Manta Matcher) — Wild Me
OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
FishBase — FishBase Consortium
Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation

Conditions

Month	Water	Visibility	Current
Jan	28–30 °C	15–25 m	strong
Feb	28–30 °C	15–25 m	strong
Mar	28–30 °C	20–30 m	moderate
Apr	28–30 °C	25–35 m	moderate
May	27–29 °C	25–35 m	moderate
Jun	26–28 °C	15–25 m	strong
Jul	25–27 °C	10–20 m	strong
Aug	25–27 °C	10–20 m	strong
Sep	26–28 °C	15–25 m	moderate
Oct	27–29 °C	20–30 m	moderate
Nov	28–30 °C	25–35 m	moderate
Dec	28–30 °C	20–30 m	moderate

Season calendar

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Peak season highlighted · current month outlined

Gear for this site

Beyond the basic kit

Reef hook — Strong current on top of the bank — hooking in is the only way to stay put.
SMB — Drift exits over very deep water.

Next step

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Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.

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