John Yeld
1 May 2007
Shark conservationists are outraged by the killing of at least one and possibly two protected great whites on the southern Cape Coast, apparently during a fishing competition.
The competition was supposed to be a "catch-and-release" event, but an official from the Fransmanshoek Conservancy later found three dead sharks lying on the rocks.
The first, which had a one metre wooden-handled gaff still stuck in its throat, was later identified as a great white, a formally protected species. A second was also believed to be a great white, although researchers could not be 100% positive as they had only photographs to work from.
The third was a bronze whaler, which is not protected.
The conservancy, which is a 16km stretch of coastline between Boggomsbaai and the Gouritz River mouth, west of Mossel Bay, believes a few "bad apples" among the fishermen taking part in the competition were responsible.
"We cannot be sure that it was the fishermen who did it, but the chances are good," said conservancy ranger Wayne Meyer.
"These fishermen also left a filthy mess of litter and dead fish - it was supposedly a 'catch-and-release' competition - on our coast.
"This is not their usual behaviour, but there are a few rotten apples at the bottom of the bag. These fishermen should be setting an example."
Meyer, who found the dead sharks just 200m from where the fishermen taking part in the competition had been casting their lines a few days earlier, believed two of them - measuring 2.06m and 1.77m respectively - were great whites.
The first had the gaff lodged in its throat "in a manner that could not have been a mistake", said Meyer.
"I managed to remove the gaff by forcing it out of the shark's gills."
He called officials from the Marine and Coastal Management branch of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, who - wrongly - identified them as Shortfin Makos. But Meyer was not convinced, and sent his pictures through to researcher Alison Kock of the Shark Research Centre at Iziko-SA Museums, who is researching great whites in False Bay.
"From the pictures I could clearly see that the one shark was most definitely a white shark, and I confirmed this with (colleague and shark expert) Dr Len Compagno," Kock told the Cape Argus.
"This is such a senseless killing of a protected species. Although the shark might have been caught unintentionally, having the gaff thrust down its throat was an intentional act.
"And the fact that two other sharks were caught and also left lying to die on the beach suggests the complete disregard these fisherman had for marine life, especially large sharks.
"With studies now directly showing the importance of sharks in the marine ecosystem and the destructive powers of fishing activities in our seas, this kind of thing is deplorable and completely senseless and I think should be made public.
"For me, if this had happened to a protected species on land people would be screaming blue murder, but the marine world just doesn't seem to get the same respect."
Meyer agreed, saying there were all sorts of myths about great whites.
"But the truth is more people die from falling coconuts every year than shark bites."
The chairman of the angling club involved could only be contacted by e-mail. He has been asked to respond.
The Fransmanshoek Conservancy adjoins the stretch of coastline where, despite the ban on 4x4s on beaches, the authorities allowed anglers in a three-day fishing competition to drive 13 vehicles on a sensitive stretch of coast during the breeding season of the threatened African black oystercatcher earlier this year.
The SA Shore Angling Association was given a permit to drive along a 15km stretch of coast between Boggomsbaai and Dana Bay, the second most important oystercatcher breeding site in the southern Cape.
The Marine and Coastal Management branch of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism later conceded they had made a mistake in issuing the permit.
For more details of the conservancy, see www.fransmanshoek.co.za
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