Shark Gutters is the anchor dive of Broughton Island's northern grey nurse shark critical habitat, a genuinely varied piece of underwater terrain combining gutters, kelp beds, boulders and a distinct amphitheatre-shaped feature, all sitting around a comfortable fourteen metres where the dive boat typically anchors. The site's approach etiquette has been refined by local guides over many years: divers descend and move into the gutters in single file while remaining negatively buoyant and still, resisting the instinct to actively swim toward any sharks spotted, since grey nurse sharks reliably approach divers who hold their position far more readily than they tolerate being chased. Handled this way, Shark Gutters delivers some of the calmest, closest and most natural shark encounters anywhere on the NSW coast.

Beyond the sharks, the site's structural variety supports a correspondingly broad marine life list: green turtles are a regular sighting, eels move through the gutters, bullseyes and old wives school over the boulders, mado gather in loose clouds, and both Port Jackson sharks and ornate wobbegongs rest on the bottom among the kelp and rock. This diversity, combined with the reliability of the shark encounters, makes Shark Gutters one of the two or three defining dives of a Broughton Island trip alongside the Looking Glass, and it is typically included on almost every charter unless conditions specifically favour a different part of the island. Because pressure on any single grey nurse shark aggregation site is a genuine conservation concern, operators increasingly rotate trips between Shark Gutters and the nearby North Rock, so divers booking a Broughton Island trip should not assume Shark Gutters will always be the exact site visited, even though it remains the benchmark by which the island's shark diving is judged.

Boats depart Nelson Bay marina and run approximately 20 km/45-60 minutes north-east to Broughton Island, weather and vessel dependent. There is no facility or dive shop on the island itself; all diving is via day-trip charter from Nelson Bay, typically with two dives per trip around the island's northern and western sides depending on conditions.

Broughton Island sits fully exposed to ocean swell and is the first site cancelled when an easterly or north-easterly blow picks up; operators want well under 1.5 m swell and moderate wind to make the run worthwhile. The island's north side, where the grey nurse shark critical habitat sites (Looking Glass, Shark Gutters, North Rock) are found, gets some lee from a southerly, while other sides suit other wind directions, so skippers choose the exact site on the day. Visibility is best in autumn and winter, typically 10-25 m, and drops after rain from the mainland catchments.

Surge is common in the shallower features like Looking Glass and needs to be managed as a group.

Descend the anchor line to around 14 m and move into the gutters in single file while staying negatively buoyant, remaining still rather than swimming toward any grey nurse sharks so they approach naturally; explore the amphitheatre and surrounding boulders and kelp beds for green turtles, wobbegongs and Port Jackson sharks between shark sightings.

Let's Go Adventures (Nelson Bay) and Feet First Dive (Nelson Bay) both run daily boat trips to Broughton Island, weather permitting.