For years, South Africa’s famous great white shark cage diving industry has been living through a genuine identity crisis.
The reason comes down to an unlikely culprit: two orcas.
On Wednesday, 23 September 2026, a great white shark was spotted and filmed just north of Seal Island in False Bay.
It was the first confirmed sighting there in almost eight years.
HOW TWO ORCAS CHANGED AN ENTIRE INDUSTRY
Since roughly 2017, great white shark sightings across the Western Cape have collapsed dramatically.
This has been driven largely by two orcas nicknamed Port and Starboard, who’ve been documented systematically hunting and killing great whites along the coastline.
Researchers, including Dr Alison Kock and marine biologists at the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, confirmed through necropsies that these orcas specifically target the sharks’ livers.
It’s an incredibly precise, high-value food source.
Kock has said the sharks “ultimately abandoned former key habitats”.
This has had significant knock-on effects for both the ecosystem and shark-tourism industries.
The impact has been staggering.
False Bay recorded regular sightings for years, but the great whites vanished almost entirely by around 2018.
In Gansbaai, the shark population’s absence stretched for two and a half years at one point.
Several cage-diving companies shut their doors permanently as a result.
THIS WEEK’S SIGHTING, AND WHY IT MATTERS
The sighting happened aboard a boat run by African Shark Eco-Charters, based in Simon’s Town.
Founder Rob Lawrence was among those who witnessed the sub-adult shark.
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“They have literally vanished, and this is the first time we have seen them in eight years,” he said.
Lawrence was careful not to overstate what the sighting means.
“One shark, I wouldn’t suddenly say everything’s back to normal, but it was very, very exciting for us to witness,” he said.
The crew returned to the same spot the following day, 24 September, but didn’t see the shark again.
Managing director Karen Lawrence said the team is celebrating the single sighting while waiting to see whether more follow.
WHY THIS ISN’T A SIMPLE STORY OF SHARKS FLEEING AND RETURNING
Here’s what makes South Africa’s situation genuinely puzzling, according to marine biologist Enrico Gennari.
In California, orcas have also killed great whites, but those sharks typically return within six to nine months.
In South Africa, they largely haven’t, until, potentially, now.
Scientists still don’t fully understand why the pattern here has been so different, or whether this single sighting signals anything more.
WHAT YOU’LL ACTUALLY SEE ON A CAGE DIVE RIGHT NOW
Given the uncertainty, most reputable operators remain refreshingly honest about what to expect.
Trips out of Gansbaai still most commonly encounter bronze whaler (copper) sharks, the species that moved into the ecological gap great whites left behind.
Seals and penguins are also common sightings, and during whale season (June to November), genuine whale sightings too.
WHAT IT ACTUALLY COSTS TO GO
Pricing varies meaningfully by operator.
Several Gansbaai companies offer separate local and international rates.
White Shark Projects charges R2,700 per adult (international rate) and R1,450 per child, aged 6 to 15.
White Shark Divers charges R2,200 per adult (with a discounted R1,750 local rate) and R1,200 per child under 12, with children under 5 going free.
Across South Africa more broadly, shark cage diving typically ranges from R1,500 to R3,800 per person, depending on the operator, location and inclusions.
Return transport is usually a separate add-on: around R800 from Cape Town, or R500 from Hermanus.
It’s genuinely moving to think that a single shark, spotted for a few brief moments, could represent the first real crack in nearly a decade of silence.
Shark cage diving is on my own bucket list, and honestly, the whole point would be seeing a great white.
I’m genuinely hoping they’re finally coming back.
Whether it’s the beginning of something bigger, or simply one shark passing through, is something only time will tell.
Have you ever done a shark cage dive in South Africa, before or after the orcas arrived?
Let us know in the comments below…
