Paddling out for the Aliwal Shoal Sharks.

Click on image to enlarge

The event had the desired result; it received excellent media coverage, and most definitely created, perhaps even underscored, awareness about the recent fatal entanglement of five tiger sharks, one great white, and a black tip in the nets. 


To recapitualte: Fourteen (!!) medium sized tigers were caught within two days in the nets of which nine could be disentangled, and released, before suffocating. These are the "official" numbers as provided by the Natal Sharks Board, responsible for the maintenance of the controversial shark nets. Who knows how many of the nine tigers that were freed survived the ordeal of having been trapped in the gill nets.


This tragedy prompted the local shark dive operators and some shark enthusiasts  to organize the "Paddle out for sharks" happening.

Lesley Rochat, a Cape Town resident who flew to Durban to support the initiative with her presence, wrote a blog which I feel conveys everything about the anti shark net ceremony. 

Unfortunately, Lesley had to witness, again, that some of the supposedly "concerned" shark advocates who were out there could not refrain from showing how guileful and little bourgeois they are.


Here is what Lesley felt compelled to include in her blog:

"It was a truly special event, filled with hope, the dead ray reinforcing our motivation to come together. It was therefore disappointing to later hear that it was dampened by someone slinging a snide remark at me while out of earshot, which was cheered on by his supporters.

Clearly I had spoken too soon - slaves to their own issues, they were unable to be gracious and put down their weapons of difference at such a significant event.

I’m an activist so it doesn’t bother me what people say about me, and I actually thought the remark was very funny: “Is that Lesley? Didn’t recognize her with her clothes on!” LOL! It’s no surprise, however, that the hundreds of ‘like’s’ and ‘shares’ on the Facebook post of our CATCHES ANYTHING, KILLS EVERYTHING poster with me naked in the nets does not include a single one of these individuals, despite it being a powerful campaign against the nets.

But what does worry me is how we will ever win this battle while another battle against each other, the ones who care about the animals, exists. As much as I dislike the Sharks Board I am willing to sit with my enemy, engage with him, and find a way to save our animals. 

By the same token I extend a challenge to recognize that while we might not all like each other, we need each other to win this mammoth battle.  The longer I am a conservationist the more I become aware that the environmental battles we fight are nothing compared to the battles against human frailty we are up against. They are very often what prevent us from achieving our conservation goals.

It is sad, but I believe that this is one of the obstacles standing in our way from making progress to save our sharks and other marine life from dying in the shark nets. I do, however, believe that Sunday’s event was blessed by Hope’s presence, and was a positive move in the right direction toward a long road that still lies ahead."

The people Lesley refers to are the same self-centered, self-righteous, arrogant, and tribal shark dive operators I had a most regrettable "issue" with two years ago. 

What is it that folks like them cannot put their egos and selfish business interests behind them when an unequivocal demonstration of public consensus about shark conservation is of the essence?


Hard to understand.... 

Largest ever "harvest" of Tiger Sharks by the Natal Sharks Board in the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area - now we know what happened.

Diving with tiger sharks in the Aliwal Shoal MPA - already a thing of the past?....

Photo: Felix Leander (2008)

Click on image

It is not a consolation but at least we now know what led most likely to the recent large-scale deaths of the tiger sharks of the Aliwal Shoal MPA.

Mark Addison*) was able to put together what initially appeared to be an enigma - so many tiger sharks, and one great white shark, caught and killed in the Natal Sharks Board gill nets put up in Scottburgh within a few days.

Here is his report:

Closure to Scottburgh Shark Net Debacle written by Mark Addison 

Finally there is some closure to the events that lead to the deaths of at least seven Tiger sharks and a Great White shark, with the additional capture and release of a further ten Tiger sharks and a Great White shark between the 18th April 2012 and 25th April 2012.All of this at the hands of the Sharksboard and in the gill nets in the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area. 

The missing piece of the puzzle washed ashore on the morning, of the 25th April 2012. Wrapped in the net from which it was cut out and dumped offshore of the Scottburgh netted installation in the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area on the 18th April 2012 by the Sharksboard. The net is without doubt a shark net used in Sharksboard’s meshing operation and acknowledged as such in the latest Sharksboard Press Release dated the 25th April 2012 - for once we agree on something!  

Where I was wrong, is that the mammal in the net was not a dolphin or dolphins but now - based on the recent find -clearly, a small whale. An academic question iswhat whale, and as I mentioned before sperm whales occur on our coast from at least 40 miles off Durban and Minke’s out to the continental shelf but I can find no sightings of Humpback whales between Umkomaas and East London in the last two weeks, which we are - according to Sharksboard’s media effort  at least - in the throes of an unprecedented early season with sightings on the KZN coast for the last several weeks! 

This brings us to the argument over the way in which the whale became entangled in the net i.e. was it alive (as I contend) or dead (as Sharksboard contend). The real time current meter seaward of the Umkomaas river shows the current direction, in the period preceding and during the period of entanglement of the whale in the net, as steadily offshore which makes the proposition of a dead whale drifting inshore against up to 1.8kts of north to south and offshore current a non-starter – let alone the information from the diving operators and fishermen. 

The only logical outcome is a live animal swimming into the net and drowning. Sharksboard catch on average five whales (with a 25% mortality) per year in the nets and at least 43 dolphin (with over 95% mortality), so this is not a new phenomenon and clearly happens on a more than regular basis. In a bizarre twist to the current situation, Sharksboard have no records for catching dead whales or dolphins so one can assume that this is for obvious reasons not a logical outcome.

Therefore it follows that the small whale swam into net and drowned, only to be scavenged on by sharks. In all of the multiple tiger shark captures in the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area the reason has always been an innocent and harmless animal in the net which has triggered the scavenging event. So no nets no captures - and given that almost 50% of the sharks arecaught on the way out of a bathing area there is no additional risk to bathing. 

As unfortunate as the untimely death of the whale was, the events that ensued could only be described as carnage for the hapless Tiger sharks and Great White sharks. Clearly, the drowned whale in the nets was an irresistible target causing the first batch of Tiger sharks to get caught up in the walls of death whilst scavenging on the now dead whale. 

The dumping of the entangled whale near to the netted installation contributed to the additional and unnecessary capture of another tiger shark and two GreatWhite sharks, of which one was killed. One has to question the policy of Sharksboard to dump so close to shore and near to netted installations. 

Sharksboard knew they were on rocky ground dumping so close to shore and this lead to the misinformation they put out in the media release of the 18th April 2012 when they reported a “…slick on the water surface on the inshore of the bay…” and on the 20th April when bathing was banned despite there being no “…signs of a slick…”. They knew what they had done and the doubts were gnawing away.

The continual catches exposed their poor judgement. They kept their charade going in a drawn out bathing ban and wild goose chase which they had caused. Sharksboard’s actions have caused the senseless deaths of vulnerable shark species and put bathers at risk! 

One definite outcome of this debacle and the poor handling of it by Sharksboard is international outrage and a definite decline in tourism to the area with the much needed international diver revenue declining as foreign tourists are shocked and appalled at the fact that there are gill nets in a Marine Protected Area for which they and their chosen operators are being charged to enter. Simply taking their tourist dollars to better managed and more animal friendly Marine Protected Areas and dive sites around the world. 

Fundamentally none of this would have happened if the nets were not there in the first place and the poor judgment of dumping the carcass so near to the netted installation compounded the senseless slaughter of twenty sharks. 

All of this in a Marine Protected Area! 

Indeed, indeed.... What immediately comes to my mind is the clandestine finning of sharks in the Galapagos Marine Park, also a sanctuary for sharks, supposedly.

If there is no effective protection of sharks, not even in a marine protected area, then there can only be one solution of the problem - the establishment of a complete ban on fishing sharks, for whatever purpose, and in the case of the Aliwal Shoal, the removal of the nets. 


I know this is probably not a realistic proposal; yet I believe that it should be the ultimate goal of a concerted action that would have to include the Natal Sharks Board and their willingness to openly discuss and tackle this burning issue.

Apart from the negative environmental impact of the nets, it is the thriving shark dive business in the Umkomaas / Scottburgh region that will be severely affected by the drastic decimation of the tiger shark population. 

Other maritime countries which have realized that live sharks can be worth many millions of tourism dollars have enacted a comprehensive ban of shark fishing (commercial / recreational). 

Ecologically minded divers won't patronize countries that do not protect their sharks and other endangered marine animals.

I have said it before, and I will repeat it: Without tiger sharks the shark operators of Aliwal Shoal will not be able to attract international dive tourists to that destination anymore.  As simple as that.

South African freediving champ Hanli Prinslo playing with a very large, yet most gentle tiger shark in the Aliwal Shoal MPA (2010)

Photo: Wolfgang Leander

Click on image

When I first dove in the Aliwal Shoal MPA early in 2007 I had the most incredible encounters and close (and totally safe!!) interactions with the local tiger sharks. Diving with the cool "striped girls" were unforgettable highlights, some quite emotional, of many decades of shark diving adventures.

Up until 2008 / 09 Aliwal Shoal was, along with Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, the only dive destination world-wide where divers could see, and get close to, tiger sharks on a regular basis. Not anymore. Tiger shark sightings in Aliwal Shoal are becoming an exception to what used to be a rule.

While I absolutely love diving at Tiger Beach, I miss the tigers of Aliwal Shoal sorely. The certainty that most of them, if not all, are dead by now saddens me and so many others who knew them by name deeply. They were: "Dartboard"/"Karin", "Ella", "Sabine", "Snowflake", "Mathilde".

*) Most of you will recall that I had a serious "issue" with Mark and Gail Addison regarding the injurious baiting tools they thoughtlessly used to attract the tiger sharks which resulted in an abrupt break-up of our friendly relationship. We are not on speaking terms anymore (their decision); however, that does not hinder me from recognizing the commendable work Mark has demonstrated by closing the shark net debacle.

Sex and Shark Infested Waters

If this does not spike ratings I do not know what does.

NatGeo's Shark Attack Experiment features blond women wearing very little freediving in shark infested waters...what sort of experiment is this??? The only good thing I saw in the video was a new baiting system that has been implemented in SA after much resistance and public outcry.

So next time you are in baited, shark infested waters, with the "largest blacktip reefs sharks responsible for 60% of Florida's (sic!) shark attacks" rest assured that you can wear a bikini and be safe...hell, you might even want to dive completely naked with sharks - now that would be real shark porn!

On Lesley Rochat, AfriOceans, and the South African sharks.

I have to confess that I was not aware of Lesley Rochat's initiative when I wrote my recent blog about the mortal dangers South Africa's most endangered sharks are facing.

Whoever is familiar with the shark world in South Africa knows Lesley Rochat. This petite and strong-willed lady has got to be one of the most versatile shark-minded individuals I have ever met: She is a writer, public speaker, a photographer, an accomplished filmmaker, the founder and Executive Director of AfriOceans Conservation Alliance, a highly visible and active shark conservation non-profit organization.

Lesley Rochat is above all a most passionate lover and dependable advocate of sharks.

Lesley in her element - and in a yellow wet suit, effectively proving that sharks don't mind the "yum-yum" color, yet another myth some shark pros still cling to...
Photo: Mike Ellis (2011)
Click on image to enlarge

Read this link, and you will know what Lesley has been doing to start the kind of ad-hoc movement I had in mind to protect the sharks in South African waters:

http://aoca.org.za/pages/2896/wanted-dead-or-alive

Let me emphasize what she wrote:

"We are a small organization with limited resources and staff. We, however, with the support of our well-respected Board of Directors, have the experience to drive a process of this nature.

We therefore urge all those who have an interest in the ocean, as well as all shark diving operators, and SCUBA diving operators in general along the South African coast, to put back into the very resource they depend upon and work with us and assist us in whatever way possible, including in raising funds required to drive this lobbying campaign to conclusion.We are open to sharing our lobbying intentions in detail with any interested parties, including other NPOs, forming collaborations and partnerships with all who wish to constructively assist us with time, money or expertise.

We tire of Industry politics and personal agendas, which consume energy while our sharks continue to be slaughtered. We hope the industry at large will support us because losing our sharks matters to all of us."

Need I say more? Lesley confirms what I felt in my gut. I am glad she candidly put on record what seems to be a major obstacle within the shark community in South Africa: The seeming unwillingness or perhaps just plain indifference of all those concerned to finally unite and make their interests a firmly articulated common cause vis-a-vis the authorities.

With reference to my blog on behalf of the sharks in South Africa, here is what Lesley said, in her very own words:

"... trying to get organisations and people to work together will take too long and our sharks can’t wait. Sadly there appears to be too many personal agendas, pseudo conservationists, egos, and lack of real caring.Since we sent our newsletter and posted the WANTED! DEAD or ALIVE? lobbying campaign over 3 months ago requesting help, apart from a few caring individuals making donations, our invite to join us in saving our sharks has not been taken up by other local groups.At this stage, AfriOceans is the only organisation in South Africa that is driving this matter forward.

Therefore, I propose that the horse that is already running the race is backed, and that AfriOceans is assisted in winning this fight. Apart from our petition with over 6000 signatures, we have already made contact with the Minister and will revert on progress."

This makes a lot of sense to me, which is why promoting internationally what AfriOceans is already doing seems to be the best bet under the circumstances.

Go here to find out how you can help AfriOceans, and also stand a chance to win a cowshark dive for two or a signed copy of Dr. Leonard Compagno’s book: "Sharks of the World":

http://aoca.org.za/pages/2207/sa-shark-petition

As far as the local scene is concerned, I can only hope that all the shark dive operators along the coast of South Africa, the conservation groups, the countless individuals who love the sea and its creatures will join AfriOceans in its ongoing fight for the protection of the beautiful and precious sharks that make South Africa a "mecca" for shark diving, especially its most vulnerable sharks, paradoxically also the most feared ones: The majestic 'Sharks of Sharks', the great white sharks, and my favorites, the awe-inspiring, strikingly gentle and charismatic Tiger Sharks of Aliwal Shoal.

Female tiger shark of Aliwal Shoal - she needs more than getting stroked on her head...
Photo: Wolfgang Leander (2008)
Click on image to enlarge

Requiem for South Africa's requiem sharks?

Is this barbarousness really happening in South Africa as claimed by a prominent great white shark operator?

The latest news I heard from a friend in South Africa are truly alarming: Great whites sharks and large tiger sharks being killed for their jaws.

This is what my friend Al Venter wrote me a few days ago:

"....There has been a lot of poaching both of tiger sharks in the warmer waters north and south of Durban and also of great whites in the Cape area.

The reason is that there are numerous trophy hunters (mainly in the US) who are prepared to pay $100,000 for a set of jaws taken from a large shark in the four-metre range.

We dived with shark specialist Mike Rutzen from one of his boats east of Cape Town at Easter and he told me that in January alone, he was aware of 13 great whites that had been illegally taken. For him (and the other companies operating out of Kleinbaai) this is a catastrophe because the numbers of whites being viewed by customers have thinned markedly.

The bottom line here is that if things go on like this, boat operators who offer their clients the opportunity of viewing sharks from up close are going to go out of business."

Sharks rapidly disappearing; shark dive operators having to look for options to make a living; the potential loss of several millions of tourism dollars - a grim scenario, indeed.

What I can say at this point is that last year I could see for myself that the numbers of tiger sharks in Aliwal Shoal were considerably lower than in the previous three years.

A well known free-diver has not seen one single tiger shark during his 12-day stay in the Aliwal Shoal area earlier this year, supposedly the best time for tiger shark encounters.

To me, and others, the reasons for the drastic decline of the tiger populations in the Durban area are pretty clear:

- The shark nets are taking their toll, implacably. Last year, just one week before I arrived in Scottburgh (Aliwal Shoal) six (!!) tiger sharks got entangled, and killed, in the infamous nets. Nobody really knows how many tiger sharks are being netted each year - more than three dozens would't be too unrealistic a guess.

- Even though Aliwal Shoal is a Marine Protected Area, reckless fishermen have contributed to the decimation of the tiger sharks by catching them clandestinely.

- And now the trophy hunters...

I understand that some local folks are working "behind the scenes" trying to induce the government to effectively enforce the protection of their sharks.

That type of lobbying is not enough.

NOW is the time to act collectively leaving personal interests and "agendas" behind, and form a solid and outspoken ad-hoc alliance of conservation organizations, shark dive operators, concerned individuals to convince the government of South Africa that they should follow the shining example of other maritime nations, and enact a total ban on shark fishing, both commercial and recreational.

Our magnificent Aliwal Shoal tiger sharks - just look at them closely, and you will realize why we shark lovers have established a mysterious bond with them.

Click on images to enlarge.

I photographed these sharks in 2007 and 2008.

It hurts to imagine that they are all probably dead by now: For their fins, for their jaws, victims of human cruelty, greed, and utter baseness.

How can we save our planet if we can't even save our sharks ?? ....

Tiger Shark Baiting in South Africa - Part IV

Sharks deserve to be treated gently.

Photo: Wolfgang Leander (2008)

Click to enlarge

Here is an open letter to all shark dive operators written by Cape Town resident Glenn Ashton. Glenn is a freelance writer, journalist, and researcher. He has much local expertise and has previously dealt with environmental management issues. Glenn is, thus, very well suited to express an expert opinion on the subject.

Open letter to the SA shark dive industry re: best practice.

Hi all,

As a journalist and observer to the debate about best practices concerning shark attraction methods and the shortcomings of some methods, it is clear that the issues that have been raised are extremely important to deal with in order to ensure that our South African shark diving industry has a reputation that we can indeed be proud of.

This cannot only come from a shark diving industry perspective but from a conservation perspective, a tourism perspective, a best practice perspective and most of all for promoting an open and transparent dialogue about the matter - shark diving, either in cages or without - for profit.

There is nothing wrong with generating profit from shark diving. The dive industry is a powerful tool to assist in protecting sharks, in getting the public to understand them and in taking their plight to a wider audience.

Public oversight has assisted in improving practices in all aspects of the shark dive industry and indeed in all related aspects of human/ shark interaction. This mirrors the experiences of other conservation practices in other nature conservation fields which have often learned and advanced themselves through outside pressure.

However it serves nobody when baseless allegations are thrown around, when issues become personalised for reasons that are completely unrelated to the issues at hand and when discussions that are aimed at improving industry practices are marginalised because of illogical and ill informed inputs.

It cannot be denied that public oversight and pressure to change from shark enthusiasts have improved the cage dive industry hugely. The cage dive industry would like to take most of the credit for themselves but that is just human nature.

The same goes for shark diving on the Aliwal shoals and other offshore shark diving spots. The methods used to attract sharks have been shown to be damaging to sharks and yet those who rely on these flawed methods have denied any cause for concern and have instead attempted to sidetrack and personalise the discussion and debate. Others have worked hard to clean up their acts and have listened to outside inputs.

Denial of any problems in how sharks are chummed and attracted obviously serves nobody except the denier and it does not move the debate forward. As a journalist and someone involved in covering environmental management in South Africa I am quite prepared to go out and expose any dangerous or damaging practices to the widest possible audience so that things do change, through either the force of public opinion or the force of law. Both are equally relevant in this case.

It would however be far more beneficial for all of the role players in this debate, especially the shark dive charterers who have been criticised for poor baiting practices, to play a far more mature and responsible role in this discussion. There clearly are operators who have tried different methods of baiting which appear to be non damaging to sharks - through encasing cables and chains in polypropylene pipe - which is rigid and extremely tough and non damaging to shark mouths, compared to exposed cables and chains. Why can this and other useful discoveries not be made best practice?

An industry standard should be agreed upon and any parties who continue to practice dangerous methods of attracting sharks, just as those who do not properly care for, or endanger their divers and customers, or who follow other dangerous practice, must be sanctioned and isolated, if shown to be intransigent in the face of changing toward best practice behaviour.

If we wish to have an industry that is good for tourism and for our image as a leading nature and eco-tourism destination then we must pursue best practice in all aspects of environmental tourism in South Africa. If we wish to be the world leaders in this field, that we claim to be, then we must behave like world leaders. Accordingly the industry must support a move toward transparency and best practice and engage with each other in a constructive way that promotes mutual interests

.

The alternative is to identify and deal with those who refuse to play the game according to mutually agreed rules and isolate them utterly. The choices are simple. So lets rather consider moving on toward finalising what is essentially a straightforward procedure.

A useful first step would be to invite all shark tourism operators to sit down around a table, at a shark tourism conference, of SA operators, and start to hack out the issues, formalise them and put these steps into practice. SA tourism and other regional tourism boards would be supportive - we all know that the industry brings in significant money. Any other relevant parties must also come aboard, including government (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Dept of Environment and Water, and possibly Tourism and also the Shark Board but there may be ambivalence about this).

It would just take a few champions of the cause, from within the industry, to drive this. They could reap huge benefits by being shown to lead the way toward the most progressive and ecologically sound practices, and could accordingly advertise along these lines.

This should ideally happen from within the industry - self regulation is always preferable to having regulations imposed on you. But if nothing happens then imposition of tighter regulations may just follow.

Over to you, the people who want to do the right thing, the people who make money out of sharks and those who want to conserve the resource for the benefit of all. Lets see the changes roll on!

All the best

Glenn Ashton

Freelance writer, researcher, author and editor.

Cape Town

South Africa

ekogaia@iafrica.com

Tiger Shark baiting in South Africa - Part lll

Tiger shark: Full of marks, grace, and character
Photo by Wolfgang Leander (Bahamas 2009)
Click to enlarge

Just to keep those posted who are interested in the subject.

Below is a mail I received from one of the twelve Aliwal Shoal shark operators. While the writer is not a "celebrity", he is the type of guy who does his job responsibly and with an unassuming, professional attitude. He seems to be deeply convinced that animals deserve to be treated humanely.

I am not sure whether this gentleman is a shark "conservationist" - probably not, at least he would not describe himself as being one; however, it is what he does that makes him a shark friend: He protects his creatures from being harmed simply because he thinks it is the right thing to do.

".......... I agree with you greatly that the sharks must not be damaged. We have for years now adopted a different view in terms of the baited diving. Our policy is there is no reward at all for tiger sharks whatsoever. We do not hang carcases on the drums. We are using only sardine and anchovy oil with the drums.

We have been using a very thick cable with a thick rubber coating almost like a thick hose pipe. We don’t use chains. The results for us have been great.

(...........)

We will still look at other methods with open minds but for us the reward part by hanging carcasses on the cable and drums is a big NO. It is also on our permit exemptions that the tiger sharks must not receive reward or be fed.

While I do not think that 'rewarding' tigers with some smelly goodies will harm them in any way, or negatively alter their behavior with regard to divers, I fully respect this operator's strict adherence to a protocol which he believes is correct.

I understand other operators are already working on developing shark friendly baiting methods. Well, that is great news, indeed!

What unfortunately turned into some sort of a deplorable controversy within shark circles in South Africa, with friends feeling uncomfortable if not outright angry at me when I brought up this issue, and made it known publicly, is now being resolved quietly and effectively. Which is all I wanted to happen in the first place.

Those friends I made in South Africa who now became unfriendly toward me cancelled each other out. Thus, I didn't win but didn't lose either. Everything is still in perfect balance.

Tiger Shark baiting in South Africa - Part II

Most definitely not a picnic for the tiger shark!!
Photo: Wolfgang Leander
Click to enlarge

The discussion on the subject continues. That is very good news, indeed!

Here is what one of the Aliwal Shoal shark dive operators wrote to Walter Bernardis of African Watersports who is coordinating the initiative to introduce more effective baiting techniques:

To: watersports

Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 7:30 PM

Subject: Re: ASCBOA list of members for CIPRO

Hi Walter

I have started using the polycop piping in conjunction with cable and though cumbersome, it definitely makes a difference.

Polycop piping is definitely the only way to go as whether it has rope or cable through it, it seems impossible, to me, that coiling can take place.

As you mentioned, polycop piping, nothing else will produce the same results, in my opinion (example hosepipe etc).

I am also busy sourcing 500-600mm hard plastic longline buoys, which I plan on turning into drums and testing to see whether viable or not, in place of the washing machine drums.

My thoughts on this is that similar to a dog with a soccer ball, as Wolfgang mentions, "radius" will determine whether it works or not, but a round object has no purchase points for any shark to bite into.

I don't know, it's my 5c worth, I am going to try this and will let you know how it turns out.

What do you think as I agree that this is an issue that needs to be addressed?

Cheers

XXXXX


Kudos to both Walter and XXXXX!!!