The male Great White shark, measuring just under 3m, was first spotted by a member of the public at around 09:00 on Wednesday morning, who then alerted two student interns from Pinnacle Conservation. The interns were busy doing monitoring of dogs on beaches on behalf of the Mossel Bay Municipality.
"It was rather disturbing seeing young children gathered around the dead shark, hitting it on its head repeatedly with sticks. When we confronted them, they said they were trying to harvest some shark teeth," the students told the Advertiser.
The team from Oceans Research, led by Enrico Gennari, a director of the organisation, arrived on the scene shortly afterwards to investigate. They were perplexed at the precision cut on the left of the shark's body, but what immediately caught their attention was the hook and stainless steel trace cable still stuck in the right hand corner of its mouth.
It later came to light that shark cage operators, White Shark Africa, became aware that their anchor line was stuck, during a diving trip on Tuesday. According to Christo Kruger, owner of the company, the skipper made the call to cut the rope and attach it to a buoy, with the intention to return and investigate once they have dropped their clients in the harbour. Upon their return, they found a male shark, similar in size, caught on their anchor line.
"Following the normal rescue procedure, we roped the shark to our boat in order to get it moving again. Movement is imperative for allowing the shark's normal breathing to ensue."
According to Kruger, his crew confirmed that the shark recovered and managed to swim away after the procedure. They also informed the Department of Environmental Affairs of the situation, as per the required procedure.
Gennari surmises that it is likely to be the same shark found on the beach on Wednesday morning.
"Altough the exact cause of death must still be determined, I am of opinion that the trace cable caused the shark to get caught on the anchor line. In the struggle to free itself, the shark became agitated and stressed. Also when it does not move, it cannot breathe properly. Therefore, the shark quite possibly died of asphyxiation."
'Hunting' the protected?
According to Gennari, this is a typical problem resulting from anglers hooking White sharks and having to cut them loose, as stipulated by law.
White sharks have been protected in South African waters since 1991 under the Marine Living Resources Act. Under this act, the 'fishing for, collecting, attempting to kill, disturbing, harassing, chumming or attracting using bait or other means, keeping controlling or being in possession of a White shark (Carcharodon carcharias) or part thereof, without a permit', is prohibited.
It is therefore not only illegal to bait and catch them, but also to trade in or have possession of any parts of a White shark, even their teeth, without a permit.
Those found in contravention of this act, can face fines of up to R2-million or five years' imprisonment.
In January 2013, a historical ruling was made in Mossel Bay, when a local angler was sentenced to a fine of R120 000 or a one-year imprisonment, suspended for five years, for being in contravention of the MLRA. This ruling is considered a milestone in the conservation of Great White sharks in South Africa.
Zolili Nqayi, spokesperson of the DEA, strongly condemned the incident this week.
"Dead or alive – Great White sharks remain a protected species. Regardless the cause of death or where the shark is found, unless you have a permit, by law, no-one is allowed to as much as touch it in a harmful manner."
According to their mandate, Nqayi said, that any person engaging in these type of illegal activities, will be liable for prosecution.
"We take shark conservation very seriously, as it is in everyone's best interest to protect them."
Nqayi said that the due course of action when spotting a Great White shark in distress, injured or dead, is to contact the local municipality, who on their part, alerts the DEA.
The need for shared responsibilities
Nqayi stressed the necessity of establishing responsible angling practices. Gennari agreed that although there is no actual statistics available on the survival rate of sharks dying due to trace cables getting caught underwater, in his expert opinion, it is simply 'far too many’.
In 2013, Die Burger reported on a similar incident: a White shark, caught in a long line which was cutting into its body, was spotted by cage diving operators in Gansbaai. Here, a joint venture was launched by researchers from the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, the DEA, shark cage operators and the Two Oceans aquarium to rescue the shark.
Gennari stated that the White shark found at Twee Kuilen was approximately five years old and have not yet reached sexual maturity. He suspects that the person who gutted the shark must have had proper gear to do so and adequate knowledge of this particular marine species.
“We are very disturbed by the loss of any White sharks. It might sound a bit strange to some, but to us, they almost seem like pets,” commented Kruger.
In the meantime, Oceans Research applied for a permit from the DEA to do a public dissection of the shark in Mossel Bay.
“Our aim is to learn more and to educate, that is why we have been hosting various meetings with stakeholders and the public this year,” Gennari concluded.
The next public meeting will be hosted at the Oceans Campus on Thursday, 8 May, at 18:00. The topic under discussion will be research on shark deterrents, taking place in June this year in collaboration with the University of Western Australia.
A gutted male Great White shark of just under 3m was found on the beach at Twee Kuilen this week. Enrico Gennari, Director of Oceans Research, found a J hook and stainless steel trace cable stuck in the shark's mouth.
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS: CORNELLE CARSTENS, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER JOURNALIST
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