GANSBAAI, South Africa (9 Feb 2008) — Tourists who flock in their thousands to watch sharks off South Africa's Cape have been warned that they might be cost lives by attracting the predators closer to the shore. Every year about 50,000 people travel to Gansbaai for a close encounter with the area's great whites, drawn in by the presence of a huge colony of Cape fur seals, and each day boats set out to sea to give tourists a closer look.Dangling bags of "chum" - usually mashed fish - a scent trail is created, and pieces of tuna on a line are used to draw the sharks towards divers in a cage on the side of the boat. When a great white shark rams the cage, inches away from a diver's face, the adrenaline immediately blots out the cold of the southern seas. But while the visitors are safe, others believe the practice is inherently risky. In recent years six people have been attacked by sharks in the waters off the Cape annually, with on average one person killed. Craig Bovim, who survived a great white attack five years ago, said that the precautionary principle should apply. "It's common sense that people shouldn't be baiting and teasing a very dangerous animal in proximity to humans," he said. "If there's any doubt that we're influencing the behaviour of the apex predator of our oceans then we should not interfere with it at all." advertisementMr Bovim, 40, was diving for lobster off Scarborough, near Cape Town, when he was "surprised by a very large animal". He said: "It bit me on both my forearms and was swimming slowly out to sea with me being held under water. I was drowning at the same time." With death imminent, he headbutted and kneed the shark until it released him, and he struggled back to shore. "There was no fear, it was very calm," he said. But he added: "It was a very close call. I lost a lot of blood." Shark spotters have since been employed at a number of beaches. Yvonne Kamp, who co-ordinates the spotters, said that while anecdotal evidence of sharks coming close to shore was increasing, that could be due to more people in the water and greater awareness. There was no evidence that shark-spotting was responsible, she said. The boat operators themselves insist there is no way their practices can train sharks to see people as food. Brian McFarlane, 59, who owns Great White Shark Tours, said: "Any time a surfer or diver has been attacked they like to point a finger at us. Yes, somebody will get bitten in the next month or two months or six months, possibly even today. "The shark is hunting for a seal or a turtle or dolphin and attacks this moving object which may happen to be a human. "More than likely he will spit him out because he will realise he's made a mistake because humans are not in his food chain." Great whites are solitary creatures that can swim vast distances. There are no reliable estimates of their numbers, but it is listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union Red List of endangered species. | |  |
SHARK BAITING: Hype vs Reality | | Myth: Shark feeders and shark baiters aim to conserve sharks. Truth: Dive industry-endorsed shark feeders and shark baiters aim to profit from so-called "interactive" shark feeding tours that harm marine wildlife and compromise public safety. Myth: Shark feeding is a non-issue because shark finning is worse.Truth: Just because there are people doing worse things to sharks does not make shark feeding trivial, or a non-issue. Myth: Baiting sharks or feeding sharks does not modify shark behavior.Truth: Manipulating sharks with bait to approach dive boats and "perform" for a dozen or more thrill-seeking scuba diving tourists, or "model" for underwater photographers, severely damages their natural defense mechanisms and significantly increases the probability they will be killed by shark fishers. Myth: Feeding or baiting sharks is the solution to finning sharks.Truth: There is no evidence that the billion plus consumers who eat sharks are motivated by hatred, fear and revenge, nor that rebranding sharks as "circus" or "rodeo" performers will make them less appetizing. Since the dive industry endorsed "interactive" shark diving, the number of sharks killed every year has tripled to satisfy the increasing Chinese demand for shark fin soup. Myth: People get their information about sharks from Hollywood horror movies.Truth: Most people do not get their information about sharks from crude, dated Hollywood horror movies (JAWS) nor underwater image touts masquerading as conservationists. While it is natural to fear apex predators such as bears, lions, tigers and sharks, it is not natural to wish them to be wiped off the face of the planet. People understand that most big animal species are threatened by human activities and should be protected. Myth: Pretending that sharks do not eat humans will help protect them.Truth: Whale sharks are renowned as the gentle giants of the shark world. They do not eat humans, yet they are among the most endangered of all shark species. While not the perferred main course of apex predators, the notion that humans are somehow exempt from the menu is almost as absurd as the notion that encouraging people to bait, feed, poke, prod and ride sharks will stop one billion plus people from eating them. |
|
|
