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Network News Network News South Africa: Swimming With Sharks May Save Them
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South Africa: Swimming With Sharks May Save Them |
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KwaZulu-Natal - The story of Black December, when a series of shark attacks along the KZN South Coast 50 years ago sent people scrambling from the ocean. But Grant Smith argues that sharks are misunderstood - and are the real victims... Unbeknown to many of us, global shark populations are being pushed to the brink of collapse, with an estimated 100-million sharks being killed every year. The severity of this figure is difficult to grasp, but becomes apparent when you understand a bit about shark biology. Sharks are at the top of the ocean's food chain and, as such, have few natural predators. So Mother Nature designed sharks to breed slowly and live a long time (up to 100 years in the case of the whale shark). Long-lived and slow to reproduce, shark species are not designed for heavy predation, and the removal of 100-million top predators from the ocean has far-reaching consequences for the ocean's health. Sharks play an important role in regulating the populations of prey species. Removing sharks in large numbers from the food chain can have serious effects on complex ecosystems - much like removing lions and other predators from an area creates over-grazing and other complex problems. Without sharks, marine habitats are at risk of collapse. The most significant threat facing shark populations in South Africa comes from commercial fishing fleets targeting tuna and swordfish. These vessels use a fishing method known as longlining. Longline vessels can deploy up to 80km of thick, monofilament line draped with thousands of baited hooks. The hooks float in the path of many unsuspecting animals and snare creatures like turtles, sea birds and sharks. The capture of these animals is termed by-catch, and along the western African coastline, from Angola to Cape Town, in excess of 7-million sharks are caught as bycatch every year. Another growing threat to the shark population is South Africa's commercial hand-line fishery. Commercial fishermen are allowed to catch as many sharks as they like, regardless of their size - even during the breeding season. These animals are the lions, cheetahs and leopards of the ocean, and if commercial hunting for them is not regulated, they will be faced with serious decline. Unlike their terrestrial counterparts, sharks are impossible to count and cannot be fenced into parks for protection. This makes it extremely difficult to assess population sizes and to regulate hunting areas. To make matters worse, every recreational fisherman in South Africa, of whom there are over a million, is entitled to hunt and kill one shark every day, whether it be a tiger, Zambezi or hammerhead shark, and leave it on the beach to rot. This recklessly inefficient protection leaves large predatory sharks wide open to the threat of extinction. Over the years, sharks have been vilified by the media. Their true behaviour has been hidden from the public by sensational reporting focusing only on "shark attacks". This has resulted in the perpetuation of the "Jaws syndrome", reinforcing fear and loathing of these creatures. This "syndrome" has led to the passive resistance of many shark-conservation efforts. The advent and growth of the shark cage-diving industry in the Cape has created a value for live sharks, as well as a platform from which people can experience the true nature of sharks. The Sharklife Conservation Group is capitalising on people's natural fascination with these animals and offers the public the opportunity to swim with sharks without cages. This experience will explode any myths you may have about sharks. Your initial resistance to the idea is merely a side-effect of the "syndrome" and will subside once you spend time with these magnificent creatures in their own world. The long-term protection and survival of these animals is linked to a sustainable and eco-friendly shark tourism industry, essentially turning sharks into a living resource and developing compassion and a better understanding of their true nature. lGrant Smith is managing director of Sharklife, a conservation group partnered by the Endangered Wildlife Trust. http://allafrica.com/stories/200712170766.html |
