Call to hunt down 'rogue shark'
2004-11-16 23:27
Cape Town - Pressure was mounting on Tuesday for authorities to declare the shark that killed an elderly Fish Hoek woman a "rogue shark" and for it to be killed.
Fish Hoek residents feel the shark that attacked Tyna Webb, 78, has tasted "human flesh" in the past.
They are afraid it will come back to the area and take more innocent lives.
Webb was attacked on Monday morning at Sunny Cove by a 6m-long Great White shark as she swam about 150m offshore.
A number of witnesses were so traumatised by the attack that they had to be given counselling afterwards.
Webb's red swimming cap was all that was recovered by searchers.
According to Martin Williams, chairperson of the life-saving club at Fish Hoek, the shark's behaviour was very different to that of other sharks.
He said the shark had taken to swimming close to the beach in the bay about two years ago.
Asked for it to be 'permanently removed'
He also felt there was a marked increase in the number of sharks in the area in the past two years.
Williams said he sent a letter to the directorate of marine and coastal management, asking for an investigation to be conducted into the attack and for the shark that attacked Webb to be permanently removed from the area.
Another group, the Shark Concern Group, wrote to Environment and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk and asked for a ban to be placed on chumming, reports Millicent Merton.
According to them, this practise of luring sharks to an area by shark-cage diving operators had changed the behaviour patterns of Great White sharks.
Van Schalkwyk's spokesperson Riaan Aucamp confirmed the minister had received the letter.
The pressure group was formed recently by Craig Bovim, who survived a shark attack at Noordhoek two years ago, and friends.
Bovim said a system similar to that in South Australia needed to be introduced in South Africa.
It allowed for the temporary lifting of a shark's status as a protected species in the event of an attack.
When this happened, the shark involved could then be hunted.
Meanwhile, measures are being taken to prevent another shark attack at Fish Hoek.
The life-saving club is working in conjunction with police and fish trackers in the hope of setting up an early-warning system.
Search for body called off
The fish trackers have a watchtower on a hill next to the beach where they monitor shoals and direct fishermen to them.
These fishermen, hopefully, will be able to tell police and lifesavers, via two-way radios, of any sharks in the area.
The police and/or lifesavers then can ban all swimming.
On Friday, a new warning signal will also be launched. People will hear it up to 3km away.
Meanwhile, False Bay beaches were empty on Tuesday and no one was allowed in the water.
The search for Webb's body has been called off.
According to Craig Lambianon of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), they had done all they could to find her body on Monday.