26/11/2004

Millicent Merton


Cape Town - The Two Oceans Aquarium have urged people to remain calm after the recent shark attack on Tyna Webb, 78, from Fishhoek.

Doctor Patrick Garratt, managing director of the aquarium, said they were saddened by Webb's death and expressed their condolences with the family.

He said, however, that people should see the attack in perspective and that the public must be educated about the vital role sharks play in the ocean.

"When people enter the sea, the enter the territory of top predators. It is like walking in the Kruger National Park - where lions are the equivalent of Great White sharks - and expecting that nothing will happen to them."

Seal Island, where many Great White sharks hunt, is just 5km away from the most popular swimming beaches in the Western Cape.

The fact that so few attacks take place, is an indication that humans are not the ordinary prey of sharks, Garratt said.

He was shocked by the suggestion that shark nets should be introduced to beaches around the Peninsula.

"It is an drastic measure that can disturb the ecology along the coast. Shark nets will also cause the death of many other shark species and harmless marine animals like dolphins. It also poses a threat to whales."

He said the survival of sharks depended on a drastic mind shift from "maneater" to irreplaceable marine predator.


http://www.news24.com/News24/South_A...627192,00.html