Big Drop In White Shark Sightings

Cape Argus (South Africa)

There has been a distinct drop in great white shark sightings off some False Bay holiday spots compared with the same period in 2005.

Since the beginning of September Muizenberg has seen a drop of 65 percent and has had only 30 recorded sightings, while Fish Hoek has had a drop of 30 percent and recorded 21 sightings.

St James Beach has had 15 recorded sightings since September. Blue Waters has reported two sightings and Strand and The Hoek at Noordhoek reported only one sighting each.

Monwabisi, Mnanadi and Long Beach Kommetjie have reported no sightings.

The Shark Spotting Programme has 20 full-time staff and will be working with four life saving clubs at Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, Clovelly, St James, Kalk Bay, Mnandi, Blue Waters, Strand, Long Beach at Kommetjie and The Hoek at Noordhoek.

Spotters from the non-profit programme will also be keeping a close eye on Glencairn beach from December 11, 2006 to January 7, 2007.

But before beach goers get excited about the drop in sightings, spotters still warn them to be on the lookout for white sharks along the coast. The creatures have a distinct inshore coastal movement in summer.

Researchers said 2006 drop was likely to be a short-term variation, while long-term monitoring and continued research would shed light on what drives the inshore behaviour, the movement of White Sharks and how it changed from year to year.

Gregg Oelofse of the City of Cape Town's Working on Sharks Group said that although sightings were down, sharks were definitely still present in the inshore area.

Collaborative Cape Town White Shark Research Projects have successfully tagged 72 White Sharks in False Bay since the beginning of 2005. Nine of the 72 white sharks were tagged between Macassar and Strandfontein in October and November.

Oelofse said the periods between sightings varied and were inconsistent: "The drop in sightings must not be taken too seriously... an increase in sightings could happen overnight."

Save Our Seas Foundation and the department of environmental affairs and tourism research boats tagged the sharks during surveys to count the number of sharks moving between Fish Hoek and Macassar.

Male and female white sharks between 1.8 and 3.5m were tagged with acoustic transmitters that transmit signals detected by 35 acoustic receivers in False Bay. The transmitters provide information on residency and movement patterns in the bay.

Sharks were sighted between 50m to 2 000m from shore, with most sightings behind the surf backline.

Surveys and tracking will continue in inshore areas of the bay for the next few weeks.