SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS FLASH - Municipalities on the South African coast are gearing up for 'shark season' when our beaches will once again be filled with thousands of bronzed bodies eager to cool down in the waves after absorbing the sun's rays.
Unlike the Cape Peninsula where there is a distinct 'shark season' when sharks move towards shore during spring and summer, the Southern Cape sees shark activity close to shore all year round.
Research Manager of Shark Spotters, Alison Kock, says especially False Bay has a very clear seasonal pattern when it comes to sharks. "In winter most shark activity is concentrated around seal colonies where Cape fur seals, particularly juveniles, make up a significant part of their diet. In summer sharks are distributed along the coast near beaches where they prey on fish and smaller sharks, mate or give birth or simply prefer the warmer inshore waters."
She says Mossel Bay's seal colony is very close to the shore, hence the shark activity close to shore even in winter.
"Along the Southern Cape coastline sharks are slightly more active during summer, but they are also active close to shore during the winter months."
Testament to this is the attack on the 19-year-old UCT drama student from Prince Albert, Caleb Swanepoel who lost his leg in June when a Great White Shark attacked him while he was body surfing with his two brothers at Buffel's Bay in June last year. Miraculously, he survived to tell the tale.
Kock says the sharks found in the Southern Cape's water are mostly juvinile or sub-adult sharks more interested in feeding than reproducing. "They follow there prey, that prefer warm water, into the shallows and so come into contact with humans. Unfortunately humans also enjoy warm water!"
The Southern Cape has suffered its fair share of attacks and in the 90s nine shark attacks were recorded in the Southern Cape. Two of the attacks were fatal - the one casualty a scuba diver in Mossel Bay and the other a boogie boarder in Buffels Bay.Then, from July 1999 until June 2008 no shark attacks were recorded, but since then, in the last eight years, 11 attacks have taken place, of which three were fatal.
ARTICLE: ILSE SCHOONRAAD, GEORGE HERALD EDITOR
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