Shark Feeding Sites in the BVI

The British Virgin Islands are a group of around 50 inhabited and uninhabited islands in the British West Indies region of the Caribbean. The BVI are located in an area made up of coral reefs -- some as shallow as 30 feet in depth -- that are home to aquatic life; including reef sharks and blacktip sharks that feed on schools of fish.

  1. Reef

    • The region surrounding the BVI contains numerous areas of coral reef and a reef restoration program is in place. The Coral Gardens reef situated close to Great Dog Island is based around a Shorts 360 airplane that was positioned in the sand and coral waters to encourage greater growth of coral in the area, in this area Blacktip Sharks are known to feed. Salt Island within the BVI is based around a shipwreck known as the Rhone, the Rhone Reef contains a variety of canyons varying from 40 to 70 feet in depth. Reef sharks are also found feeding around the wreck of Rhone Reef.

    Feeding

    • Shark feeding sites within the BVI include the Alice's Wonderland site surrounding Ginger Island, the reef contains colorful pillar and star coral. Nurse sharks are found around the BVI in reef areas, such as Brewers Bay East, close to Tortola Island. The nurse sharks of Brewers Bay East feed on the large schools of fry that survive in the area. Another area with large groups of nurse sharks is the 200 foot ridge of Carrot Shoal at Peter Island, where large groups of fish are available for food.

    Blonde Rock

    • The reef of Blonde Rock -- close to Dead Cliff Island, between Dead Cliff and Salt Islands -- contains a large rock area covered with yellow fire coral, according to the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board and Film Commission. The rock of the area contains many ledges and caves that are used by fish and some shark species to hide. Species such as the Barracuda and various different sharks can be found feeding in this area.

    Islands

    • The British Virgin Islands were first discovered by Europeans on November 16th, 1493 by explorer Christopher Columbus. Prior to the arrival of European settlers the BVI were inhabited by Amerindian tribes, such as the Ciboney tribe of Venezuela -- around 300 B.C. -- and the Tiano Arawaks occupied the islands from around 200 A.D.