Twelve of us gathered in the Oceanography Department’s parking lot — groggy, quiet, and carrying weeks of training on our backs. It was an early Friday morning in December 2024 and, I, for one, was sleep-deprived and nervous. The soft conversations around me matched the gentle light streaming through the oak trees overhead. Three tests lay ahead and they would determine whether I would become a Class V commercial diver or not. Was I ready for this? A month and a half of pool training, near-drowning incidents, beautiful wreck dives, and snotty tears had tested me physically. But on that summer morning, I had never been more nervous.
When I began my undergraduate degree in marine biology in 2015, I had vivid dreams of what kind of marine biologist I might become. In one of those dreams, I was exploring the coral reefs along the east coast, guided by seasoned scientists and the marine mammals we were monitoring. But as my studies progressed, reality hit hard: the costs of becoming a commercial diver, the qualifications needed to conduct proper research underwater, the lack of access and support. It became clear that some dreams could only be chased if you had the right passport to opportunity. I didn’t. So, I shelved that vision and pursued paths that didn’t demand a bank balance I didn’t have.
The Shark Spotters Graduate Training Programme understands that reality. It exists because too many graduates let go of their dreams due to a lack of opportunity and support to gain critical industry skills. And lucky am I to have witnessed its inception and delivery, to have met graduates I watched grow, and to have had the joy of sharing their successes online when they obtained their Class V certifications. So, when I was offered the chance to get mine — scared… excited… I said yes.
Three months prior to test day, when my breathing got heavy with the idea of the 16 laps I would have to do for the dive test in the second week of November, or when I had to learn to freestyle, when what I was comfortable with was laying on my back in the water and letting it hold me into a firm sense of safety and calm, I refused to take this opportunity for granted. I lost count of how many cups of pool water I accidentally swallowed learning that damn freestyle stroke. It felt clumsy and stupid at first (but it wasn’t, really). I drank that water so that I could sit in the tungsten-lit room, write the three tests and hope I had passed.
By midday, exhaustion had wrapped itself around us like a wet wetsuit. The lack of sleep, the missed breakfast — all of it caught up. We walked out of the front doors of the Oceanography Department, our voices ladled with relief and joy which narrated the outcome. The sun was at its peak, beaming down like a spotlight on myself, Tsepo Mlambo, Summer Fürst, and Lochaan Koeries. We had done it — each of us, newly qualified Class V commercial divers representing Shark Spotters.
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To Shark Spotters, I extend my deepest gratitude. You turned a dream — once laid to rest — into something real. To the funders and supporters of this programme, namely De Beers Marine and TETA (Transport Education and Training Authority): thank you. Your belief in this vision is changing the trajectory of many graduates’ lives, including mine. To our instructors, your support and guidance is valued deeply. And none of this would be possible without the dream that started it all.
Thank you, Shark Spotters.
Written by: Jamila Janna