Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Animals

Come Eye-to-Eye with Sharks!

Eye-to-Eye Sharks!, a get-in-the-swim program like no other in the Puget Sound region, opens this summer at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. For the first time ever, aquarium visitors will climb into the water with our 17 sharks and get up-close views like nothing they've ever seen.
 
All participants will wear specially designed suits that zip over street clothes and seal out water. No need to even bring a swim suit! Whether you're a certified scuba diver or an adventuresome nondiver, there's a journey of underwater discovery for you:
 
  • An escorted scuba swim, led by a professionally trained guide, for certified divers.
  • A "cage" dive with easy-to-breathe surface-supplied air for novices and non-certified divers. No experience required.
  • Eye-to-Eye Sharks! is the only warm-water exhibit dive in the northwest with so many sharks. A true tell-your-kids-and-grandkids-about-it ADVENTURE!

Get-in-the-swim for certified scuba divers!
Age: 15 and up
Certification: Must bring proof of diver certification
Orientation: Divers get specific training for their program
Gear: All gear supplied; divers can bring prescription masks
Cost: $160, Zoo members; $175, non-members

Get-in-the-swim for non-certified divers!
Age: 8 and up
Certification: None required
Orientation: Professional provide all the information participants need to feel secure and safe
Gear: All gear supplied
Cost: $50, Zoo members; $65, non-members

Yes! Keep me in the loop about Eye-to-Eye Shark Dive information, including the chance to reserve one of the first Eye-to-Eye dives later this year. 

Enter your name and email below!

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Yes! Sign me up for Shark Dive Information
 


Watch this page for details about reservations and a grand opening date.

Conservation

Many people believe sharks’ status as top-of-the-food-chain predators means they’re invincible. But several species of sharks are threatened with extinction. Sharks are being horribly over-fished by the tens of millions.

Threats to them include:

  • Finning: Fins, sought for soup and other delicacies, are cut off and the sharks are thrown back into the water where, rudderless, they drown. This illegal activity is devastating to shark populations.

  • Overfishing: Sharks are longlived and don’t reproduce as swiftly as other species. Their numbers can’t quickly recover from commercial harvesting.

  • Pollution: Oil spills, mercury, lead and other materials threaten the habitat of sharks and other sea animals.

Shark Species

  • Lemon shark
  • Nurse shark
  • Sandtiger shark
  • Black-tip reef shark
  • Wobbegong shark
  • Sandbar shark