Alanna Canaran

“They ended up just staying really close to the bottom and making their way to the shore, and getting out of the water on basically a side of a cliff because they were obviously spooked.”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran describes how her friends exited the water after spotting a great white shark above them.

“If I only dove when the water was clear, I'd only have about five dives a year. I'm going to keep diving.”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran says she will keep diving despite the need for extra caution in low-visibility water.

“She was looking down at the rocks and looking at lobsters and things, and all of a sudden she looks up and she sees the belly of a great white shark just swim above her.”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran recounts her dive partner's close encounter with a great white shark at Birchie Head near St Margaret's Bay.

“There have been a few days where you're in the water and it feels very sharky. You can feel that energy. Often in the summertime, when the water warms up, the water visibility decreases, so it becomes a little bit green or a little bit hazy – I'm sure they've been around.”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran describes the sensation of being in water where sharks may be present during summer months.

“I also preface it by saying [the risk of a shark attack is] very, very, very unlikely, but it's increasing.”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran notes that while the risk of a shark attack is very unlikely, it is increasing.

“If there are a lot of sharks, say around Cape Cod or New York, and they're just too populous, they're going to start moving into their northern and southern ranges,”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran suggests overcrowded shark populations in areas like Cape Cod or New York may push sharks into northern and southern ranges.

“Now there's definitely like a couple of hundred, and there's more people on boats. More eyes on the water, of course, will mean more sightings.”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran attributes increased shark sightings partly to more people using the waters around Nova Scotia.

“It would trick them into thinking they were in slightly shallower water, and so they would leave these boats alone.”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran explains how indigenous communities used spruce roots and sea grass to trick sharks into thinking the water was shallower.

“In that time in Nova Scotia, it was pretty unheard of to see a white shark,”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran recalls that when she first moved to Nova Scotia in 2010, seeing a white shark was rare.

“Even in 2020, when I moved back, there was only a couple dozen scuba divers that were going out on the regular,”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran notes there were only a couple dozen regular scuba divers in Nova Scotia when she moved back in 2020.

“They would tie spruce roots and sea grass to the bottom of the boat, and that would confuse the sharks,”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran describes a technique indigenous fishing communities used to keep sharks at a safe distance from boats.

“Indigenous people were out on canoes and they were harpooning seals, and so it's pretty amazing… a great white shark could be in the water as well,”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran notes that Nova Scotia's indigenous people like the Mi'kmaq historically shared waters with great white sharks.

“I include a briefing about sharks for my courses and for my guided dives that I take out,”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran describes including shark briefings in her dive courses and guided dives.

“I was teaching an open water [diving] course in the ocean last week and I actually woke up to a bunch of messages about the interaction in Quebec. Did it stop me from diving? No. Did it make me extra cautious that day? Yes. I had sharks on the mind and so I decided to teach my course at a very protected little cove with lots of eelgrass.”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Speaking by email after the September shark attack in Quebec, Canaran describes continuing to dive while taking extra precautions.

“It's about relearning how to live with them. We've done it before, and so I'm confident that we can do it again.”

Alanna Canaran · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-03

Canaran expresses confidence that Canadians can relearn how to coexist with great white sharks in their waters.