MUIZENBERG, South Africa (13 Aug 2006) -- A young lifeguard lost his foot after being attacked by a shark off Muizenberg in False Bay, a tourist area where shark feeders sell shark cage dives. Achmat Hassiem, 24, was training with other lifeguards in the surf off Sunrise Beach at about 11am when the shark attacked. Among the lifeguards in the water when the shark attacked was Achmat's brother, Taariq, 17, who helped pull him to shore. Hassiem was treated by his fellow lifeguards on the beach until a helicopter arrived and evacuated him to Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic. Hospital officials said that Hassiem was in stable condition and confirmed that he had lost his foot in the attack. Shark feeders under attack Despite South Africa's policy to downplay the threat of shark attacks -- local media reports always include "experts" who describe them as "extremely rare" -- many people believe the booming shark feeding and cage diving industry is responsible for the recent spate of shark attacks in False Bay. Prior to 2003, shark attacks were in fact "rare" and there had been no shark-related fatalities for decades. But since 2003, at the same time South Africa's commercial shark feeding and cage diving industry became a major tourist draw, there have been six shark attacks in the area, three of them fatal. In September 2003, David Bornman, a 19-year-old surfer from Newlands, bled to death after he was attacked by a shark off Noordhoek. In April 2004, in the same area off Muizenberg where Achmat Hassiem was attacked, 16-year-old surfer John Paul "JP" Andrew lost most of his right leg when he was bitten by a shark at Surfer's Corner. In June 2005, at Miller's Point in False Bay, Henri Murray disappeared after he was apparently eaten by a great white shark. With the concurrent increase in shark feeding tours and shark attacks, concerned scientists, environmentalists and marine recreation groups have called on South Africa officials to shut down commercial cage diving operators who feed sharks to attract them to near-coastal waters for thrill seeking dive tourists. Don't blame us Bolstered by the support of the scuba diving and tourism industries, defiant cage diving operators deny their shark feeding stunts have made South Africa's popular tourism destinations unsafe for both locals and tourists. According to the DEMA, a US-based dive industry marketing group that aggressively promotes the shark feeding industry, and PADI, a US-based company that utilizes its international resort network to market and sell shark feeding tours and dolphin parks, shark feeding is "safe and educational". | | Since 2003, there have been six shark attacks -- three of them fatal -- raising concerns that South Africa's booming shark feeding and cage diving industry may be to blame. Environmentalists argue that shark feeding is bad for both people and sharks because it conditions predators to associate humans -- specifically people in the water -- with food. That argument, backed by overwhelming scientific evidence that fish feeding adversely affects marine life, has prevailed in Florida, Hawaii, the Cayman Islands, the Red Sea, the Maldives and many other popular tourist destinations where coastal resource management officials have banned all shark feeding and fish feeding activities. Sources in South Africa have told CDNN that Cape Town is drafting a proposal for tourism safety in False Bay, however, it fails to ban shark feeding. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKCDNN Related NewsCDNN SPECIAL REPORT - Shark Feeding news and analysis SOUTH AFRICA - Stop shark cage diving say South Africa shark attack victims SOUTH AFRICA - South Africans want shark feeding banned SOUTH AFRICA - Diver swallowed whole by great white shark SOUTH AFRICA - Young diver missing in False Bay shark feeding area SOUTH AFRICA - Shark feeding dive tours blamed for shark attacks in South Africa SOUTH AFRICA - Surfing association blames shark feeding cage dive operators for shark attacks in South Africa SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
