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Shark-spotters CT's best option
14/09/2006 21:55 - (SA)
Cape Town - A shark-spotting programme, unique in the world, sighted Great Whites 69 times this year - - but this will increase rapidly with the summer season.
Last year, the spotters sighted Great Whites 165 times on two beaches on the False Bay stretch of coast.
The spotting programme to warn surfers and swimmers of the approach of Great Whites was to be expanded, said environmentalists on Thursday.
However, they emphasised the danger from the mighty predators had been blown out of proportion.
Len Compagno, a leading shark expert who provided scientific advice to the 1975 movie, Jaws, said: "They don't make a living out of preying on people.
"If they did, we would have serial man-eaters out there."
Close shaves hit headlines
On average there is just one attack a year in Cape Town - and six in total in South Africa - but the Great Whites repeatedly hit the headlines because of the close shaves, partly due to the increasing number of surfers and others in the waters.
A Great White, the only shark species that survives in Cape Town's frigid Atlantic waters, recently bit off the foot of a lifesaver and earlier this week one circled repeatedly around a surfer before swimming away.
But experts at Thursday's meeting agreed that people posed a far greater risk to sharks than the other way around, with the Great White classified as a protected species in 2004.
Shark expert Alison Kock, who is in a drive to tag Great Whites in the waters around Cape Town to monitor their movements. said: "There is still a major misconception on sharks, that 'We hate sharks and so let's kill them.' "
They swim vast distances
The number of Great Whites in South Africa is believed to have stabilised at about 1 200 since 1991, when they were declared a protected species, said Kock.
She emphasised, however, that the figures were unreliable because of the vast distance the sharks swam.
The department of the environment, Cape Town city council and the World Wide Fund for Nature convened the meeting to discuss how to find a balance between conserving Great Whites and ensuring the safety of surfers and swimmers ahead of the busy tourist season.
Training for disadvantaged
Greg Oelofse, Cape Town's environmental policy co-ordinator, said the early-warning programme, in which trained "spotters" with binoculars and special glasses stood on hills above popular beaches and sounded the alert if they saw a Great White approaching, offered the best solution at present.
The programme, the only one of its kind in the world, trains people from disadvantaged communities, including the homeless, to monitor the movement of the predators.
Oelofse said that spotters sighted Great Whites 165 times on two beaches on the False Bay stretch of coastline last year.
So far this year, they have sighted the predators 69 times - but this will increase rapidly with the onset of the summer season.
Shark nets not an option
Each time a Great White is seen entering the bay, a siren is sounded and the order given to clear the water. The plan now is to double the number of beaches under surveillance to six and set up a website and central phone number so that surfers can check on shark activity before they leave home.
Oelofse said shark nets were not an option because of rough waters around Cape Town and public antipathy to the nets which ensnare not only sharks but also dolphins and turtles.
The growing popularity of cage diving, in which boat operators used bait to lure sharks toward adrenaline-seeking and camera-toting tourists, was not deemed to have made a big difference to the number of attacks.
'Probably just curious'
Geremy Cliff, a 25-year veteran of the Natal Sharks Board, said hunger rarely was the reason for shark attacks, as was mistaken identity for seals.
He said the Great White's natural aggression and self-defence was more likely - and also curiosity.
"They are very curious and might just want to give a gentle nudge. Unfortunately for humans, that can cause serious injury."
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