The sharks seen by divers include the common species seen elsewhere in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but hammerhead sharks, bull sharks, lemon sharks and tiger sharks are also possible. Only 3 shark attacks against humans have been recorded in the Turks and Caicos Islands, with no deaths or loss of a limb. The parrotfish, the puffer fish and the trunk fish are just three examples of extraordinary looking fish that inhabit the reefs of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Endangered green sea turtles are commonly seen swimming in the shallow waters surrounding the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are the favorite example of almost all visitors of the fauna of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and widely considered to be “lovers of the sea”, they are common inhabitants of the crystal clear, turquoise waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands. At low tide, sandbanks and mangrove channels trap lemon sharks and nurse sharks in deeper water areas until the tide changes. As the saying goes: “If the water is salty, there are sharks, and this is also true in the Turks and Caicos Islands. After being transported on a ship of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force to Providenciales, the victim was airlifted to Florida for emergency surgery.
For a more extensive list of fish commonly seen when diving in the Turks and Caicos Islands, visit Reef Watchers' Turks and Caicos Islands Fish Guide and Dive Provo's overview of %26 marine life dive sites. While these three cases may make you nervous, keep in mind that the Turks and Caicos Islands receive more than a million visitors a year and most of these guests spend quite a bit of time splashing in the ocean. A 35-year-old local fisherman was underwater fishing (which is illegal in the Turks and Caicos Islands and causes blood in the water and fish break) in the relatively shallow waters of the Caicos banks. Only three shark attacks have been recorded in the Turks and Caicos Islands in recent history recorded here, and all the victims survived (without losing a limb).
