Diver watching grey reef sharks pass over the reef at a respectful distance

AWARE Shark Conservation

SKU ASC001

R 3,500.00 ZAR

Route: Diver Certification

Diver Certification
Knowledge Development Only

Product variants

Sharks are in serious trouble, and almost none of it is the thing people are frightened of.

A quarter of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction. The causes are overfishing, bycatch, the fin trade and habitat loss, and essentially none of them are helped by the way sharks get talked about. Divers are unusually well placed to change that, because we're among the few people who actually see sharks behaving like sharks.

The AWARE Shark Conservation course covers what's genuinely happening: why sharks matter to a reef ecosystem, what's driving the decline, and where the pressure points for change actually are. It's a conservation course with real content rather than a poster campaign.

The part that makes it stick is the assessment exercise. Rather than being told sharks are threatened, you learn to look at a dive site, or at everyday life, and identify the features that help or harm sharks. Most people find it changes what they notice.

Two Ways To Take It

The Diver Certification route adds two open water dives, where you assess a real dive location for its impact on sharks. Maximum depth is 18 metres, or 30 metres if you're already an Advanced Open Water Diver, and the dives can be run in a single day. You'll earn a full PADI AWARE Shark Conservation Diver specialty certification, which counts toward your Master Scuba Diver rating.

The Knowledge Development Only route has no diving at all. You do the same theory, plus a land-based assessment exercise in place of the dives, and earn an AWARE Shark Conservation Program Participation Certificate. There's no certification prerequisite, so a non-diving partner, a parent or a curious teenager can do it alongside you. It doesn't count toward Master Scuba Diver, and we'd rather be straight about that.

Ready to be useful to sharks rather than just fond of them? Pick your route below, or get in touch with our team if you'd like to talk it through.

What This Course Entails

Knowledge development is common to both routes and can be run as a classroom session or as independent study using the AWARE Shark Conservation Study Guide. It covers the ecological role sharks play, the real drivers of their decline, the conservation status of the major species groups, and where individual action actually has leverage.

On the Diver Certification route, two open water dives follow, in which you assess a dive location for the features that make it hospitable or hostile to sharks. Maximum depth is 18 metres, or 30 metres if you hold PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. No confined water or pool sessions are required, and both dives can be completed in a single day.

On the Knowledge Development Only route, a land-based assessment exercise replaces the dives. The course runs to a recommended 12 hours on either route, and all scuba equipment is included where dives are involved.

Prerequisites

For the Diver Certification route:

Certified PADI Open Water Diver or Junior Open Water Diver, or an equivalent certification from another training organisation.
Minimum age is 12 years old.
Complete a basic health screening questionnaire to confirm you're fit to dive.

For the Knowledge Development Only route:

None. No diving certification is required and there are no water sessions, so no health screening is needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to dive to take this course?

Not necessarily. There are two routes. The full AWARE Shark Conservation Diver certification includes two training dives and requires an Open Water certification. The knowledge development only route has no diving at all, includes a land-based location assessment exercise instead, and is open to anyone, which makes it genuinely suitable for a non-diving partner or a whole family.

What's the difference between the two options?

The knowledge development is identical. The Diver route adds two open water dives where you assess a real dive site for features that affect sharks, and earns you a full PADI AWARE Shark Conservation Diver specialty certification. The knowledge development only route earns an AWARE Shark Conservation Program Participation Certificate instead, which is a recognition of the learning rather than a diving qualification.

What does the course actually cover?

The ecological role sharks play, the genuine drivers of their decline, which are overfishing, bycatch, the fin trade and habitat loss rather than anything you've seen in a film, and the conservation status of the major species groups. Then the practical part: assessing a location for the features that help or harm sharks, which is the bit that changes what you notice afterwards.

How many dives, and how deep?

Two open water dives, which can be run in a single day. Maximum depth is 18 metres, or 30 metres if you're already certified as a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. No confined water or pool sessions are required. All scuba equipment is included.

Does it count toward Master Scuba Diver?

The full Diver certification does, as one of your five specialities. The knowledge development only Participation Certificate does not, and we'd rather say so plainly than have you find out later. If you're working toward Master Scuba Diver, take the Diver route.

Are air fills included in the course price?

No, and that is deliberate. Air is charged as you use it, per fill, and invoiced to you after your session. Every diver breathes differently, and building a worst-case air allowance into every course fee would mean the lightest breathers subsidising the heaviest, so instead you pay for the air you actually use and the course price stays lower for everyone. We confirm the current fill rate with you when we book your dates, and you are welcome to ask us for it at any point before that. Dive site entrance fees are also paid separately, at the site on the day.