Our Philosophy & the considered, debated, way forward

The ECO initiative - Surfers For Responsible Shark Cage Diving (click to jump to it) The initial EMOTIVE argument (click to jump to it)

Getting all to embrace SA Shark Tourism
Shark tourism: “A delicate matter”

Shark Cage Diving is a relatively new and prosperous industry with certainly growing appeal. It operates in a very delicate ecological environment. (in a sanctuary with endangered primal predators), and shares its environment (sharks and ocean) with a number of very passionate communities, namely surfers, fisherman conservationists, and other general public that have a relationship with Cape shores.

Most would agree we still have much to learn about sharks. What we have learnt is that these magnificent creatures are not to be feared, but better understood, and preserve their natural habitat. Sharks need to be revered for the highly evolutionary master predators of the sea, and when facilitating interacting with sharks, to practice extreme care and caution. Sadly SA operators have a negative image here.

There is a growing concern amongst public and environmentalist groups about shark cage diving as a practice, and even less about SCD’ings effect on its delicate surroundings. Is it appropriate to mix people in a feeding environment of wild animals? Is it aptly regulated? Are shark and human interaction increasing as a result of it? Some opinions are informed, others mostly emotive reactions, resulting in myths and strongly held opinions, no matter the level, its a charged debate.

Important points;

• Little is known in the greater scheme of shark behaviour.


• We do live in a high risk region, and risk is only increasing (increasing ocean using human population+large White shark concentration in SA.


• We should err on the side of caution given our Socio-enviromental context


• Be overly risk averse with regard to human interaction with great white sharks, for the conservation of the sharks, their misunderstood reputations and public safety and concern


• Ensure all current international guidelines are applied in SA, and continue to adopt test new methods that seem more risk averse as to build better public acceptance of the practice


• Continued scientific monitoring of all Shark related tourism

The ocean is a shared environment between surfusers, bathers, fisherman, shark researchers, shark cage tourism, and conservationists. Its a delicate resource and needs to be carefully used and conserved that works for all.

The ECO initiative

Surfers For Responsible Shark Cage Diving have developed a strategy that is pro-active, sustainable, and overall very positive in terms of dealing with the issue at hand.

We are in the process of putting together an application to have Government legislation ammended, so that every Shark Cage Dive boat that goes out, must have an Environmental Control Officer (ECO) onboard.

What is an Environmental Control Officer (ECO)?

In a nutshell, and ECO is appointed by a regulated body to monitor commercial activities that take place in sensitive natural environments, and to make sure that no laws or regulations are flaunted during the activity.

Official description: Under general direction, plans, directs, and coordinates the necessary monitoring, evaluation, and investigative activities to ensure compliance with environmental regulations for all City natural environments; manages, coordinates, and implements clean-up projects; and serves as technical resource/advisor to City departments regarding a variety of environmental compliance issues/concerns.

Why should there be an ECO onboard shark cage dive vessels?

Shark Cage Diving is a very popular tourist activity in South Africa, with 12 vessels having licenses to chum for Great Whites along South African waters (Cape Town, Mossel Bay, Gans Bay). There are regulations in place such as;

• Amounts of chum to be used in attracting Great Whites close to viewing boats


• That no direct feeding of Great Whites takes place


• That operators do not chum close to public beaches

It is well known that not all Shark Cage Dive follow these guidelines, and by ignoring these regulations they could be responsible for negative changes in the Great White's relationship with human beings.

Having an ECO onboard will ensure that all regulations are followed, legitimising the industry, giving greater protection to the sharks, and preventing negative conditioning that could affect ocean users.

Benefits of the ECO Initiative

We feel this initative is a win-win situation for ALL stakeholders involved.

Stakeholder	Benefits
RESEARCH Conservation, Marine Biology	ECO collects data on every dive (up to 8760 dives per year) Ensures conservation regulations are upheld
OPERATORS Shark Cage Dive operators, Adventure companies	Support sustainability in their industry Help promote a more positive image of the industry Use the 'green ticket' to promote their business to increasingly eco-minded tourists
GOVERNMENT SANPARKS, City of Cape Town	Generate income from hiring of ECO's Job-creation
PUBLIC Surfers, spearfishermen, life-savers, divers & swimmers	Safer seas!

The work is in progress. We are working with an Environmental Lawyer to assist with assimilitating data and research, putting together white paper, and the processes involved with dealing with legislation.

Below is a chart depicting our research into relevant stakeholders and their concerns;

Representative	Relevant issue	Impact	Proposal
SFRSCD (public concern)	-concern over water user safety -concern over responsible practice. (socio/enviro/economical)	-negative perception of Shark Tourism -pent up frustration	-Monitor public perception -Communication between Shark Tourism and public. -Share keep public informed about developments
Official environmental body SANPARKS	-Currently shark cage diving occurs in a delicate environment unsupervised. -Large revenues and competition	-Relevant global and local regulation can’t be ensured. -Relevant environmental and sustainability guidelines cannot be ensured, (as in the case of film industry/ECO’s)	Devise a winning approach to ensure environmental standards are upheld in SCD’ing operations and locations. E.g. ECO’s
Shark Cage Diving Fraternity	Negative public perception about shark cage diving ilocal and international. (International SCDO’s local fisherman, divers, surfusers, lifesavers, general public) (local and international)	-Resentment towards SCD. -Loss of market share to more eco friendly operators overseas.	Become a world leader in eco-tourism) -Address concerns key concerns. (public and other) -Lead Shark Tourism responsibly and sustainably -Abide by standards and laws (international and local) -Partner with Shark Research fully supporting a) learn more about sharks.b)monitor closely -Develop and integrated advertising campaign based on leadership credentials.
Official Shark Research body	We need more research	Less informed public and industry. -Ongoing myths about sharks, shark tourism continue.	Development an integrated research approach to a) enhance shark research. b) monitor SCDO’s impact -Partner with SCDO’s to implement the approach.

* The initial EMOTIVE argument that led us to The considered, debated, level headed Approach
(Please note this was dated Jan 2011, and above data is now our official position, it is included to add context)

The initiative we are involved with has been a thought process shared by many Cape surfers over the past 10 years or so, spurred by the fact that if you are a Cape Town surf rider over 20 years old you will know that Cape Town used to be mellow with shark attacks. Lots of big sharks about sure, but they had plenty of seals to chow and only occasionaly made an appearance near surfers, and usually only a little visit, nothing serious. All the shark attack scares were up the east coast, 'Its too cold down here' was the old saying. But then things started happening in the 90's and a few 'freak' attacks at places like Scarborough, Caves, Dunes and suddenly it seemed like things were definitely increasing for the worse. A horrifying pattern which has carried on along the whole coast from Cape Town to Coffee Bay. Information we have collected from the University of Florida International Shark Attack File shows that from 1905 to 1990 there were 31 shark attacks on humans between Cape Town and Port St Johns, with 1 single fatality. From 1991 to 2010 there have been 94 shark attacks, with 16 fatalities. Thats an increase of one attack every 3 years with 0.01 fatalities, to nearly 5 a year with just under one death PER YEAR!

Recent studies have shown that this problem is not only a South African issue, as the Great Whites migrate all over the world, and any change, however slight, can result in attacks on humans far away from where the cage dives actually take place.

Its a fine balance to be a Cape surfer, the waves are powerful and tricky, the waters cold, the wind howls, and you have to deal with the possiblity of big johnnies. But this was a balance people took on and thrived in, with little problem as 90% of the whole shark paranoia is just that, FEAR, False Evidence Appearing Real. And people got happily barreled at remote spots, shared the ocean whilst accepting their chances and lived happily ever after.
But then all these attacks just kept happening, and people started to look at the newly formed and highly controversial tourist money-maker called Shark Cage Diving, saw how the sharks were being taunted with food and aggravated to the point of snapping, so that the high-paying tourist could get a sweet photo, cheat 'death' and go back to the States/Europe as a hero.

Seeing the boat crews mixing the sardine chum and skippers nonchalantly flicking their cigarette butts into the ocean doesnt help their claims of being conservationists too much either. The fact that more than a dozen boats are daily doing shark cage dives, throwing chum and other goodies into the water to attract the big Great White sharks, throwing tunaheads tied to rope into the water when they arrive, coaxing the sharks as close to caged heroes as possible, then as the shark lunges for the sushi, jerking the tunahead away as the jaws come out, snap-snap, high fives all round. Tourist leaves exhilarated, Shark Boat company laughs all the way to the bank (stopping off at the SA Parks board to skim off a small commision/donation to conservation.) Meanhile Mr 4.5m Johnny McShark swims off hungry, pissed off at being fooled by another damn human. This practive goes on for months, maybe even years, when one day Johnny is swimming around looking for a seal or two, but spots these fricken humans a ways in shore. "Hah! he thinks, where's your cage now buddy?" We all know how the rest of the story goes.

The argument is not whether the feeding or not-feeding is creating an association between humans and sharks (it is actually illegal to feed or chum water to attract sharks to come to the boats, just like its illegal (and very stupid) to drag a carcass behind a safari truck to draw in Lions in the Kruger. Whats the difference?).

A great example is the current baboon problem around Kommetjie and Cape Point, with baboons becoming more and more brazen in their quest to take food from humans. Why? Because people think its funny to feed them. Not so funny when you have a 100kg ape in your kitchen or on top of your car. And there are signs everywhere stating 'DO NOT FEED WILD ANIMALS' for the reason that it changes their behaviour, in a bad way.

The real issue is the lack of respect for natures Apex predator, the top of the food chain, the undisputed king of the seas, the Great White Shark. The taunting with bait and the frustration at having the unnatural protection of a thick steel cage, we believe, is affecting a small percentage of the migratory Great Whites, and changing their behaviour in a negative way. Notice how many of the attacks on surfers in the last 20 years were single bites, and then the shark swam away. If it was looking for food it surely would eat you and leave no trace. Sharks are one of the least understood creatures by science on earth, so looking for a purely scientific answer might take a very long time to find, and the amount of variables involved make it a near impossibility to conclusively prove. What we do know is Sharks are highly intelligent creatures, that have existed at the top of evolution for thousands and thousands of years, you cannot be a simple oaf, a brainless monster, and survive in more or less the same form for such a long time. Its impossible, and naive to think so. These great rulers of the sea know that it's humans messing with them, from up on the boat and down in the cage, and some of them are taking action and vengeance for the disgressions, and this is not good for surfers. We are in the water more than anyone, we operate in their natural hunting zone, we wear mostly black, and we're easy targets. So don't make the situation any worse by antagonising them.

The sad issue is that due to the poor visibility in the Cape waters, the only way for the local Shark Cage Dive operators to get a shark close enough to see underwater is with chum. No chum, no shark? But wait a minute! Chum- free Eco friendly Great White Shark Cage Diving is happening in Australia, using audio sound vibrations to attract the world’s largest predatory fish, with ACDC being the Great Whites favourite music!! The benefits of using the sound vibration is that it is omnidirectional and instantaneous and completely eco friendly. click here read more in the blog

Why is it not enough to take boattrips out to the seal islands by boat and just observe these great creatures in their natural environment, unprovoked by human interaction, like we would on big game safari? Because no-one will pay R1600 a pop to do it

The website and Facebook group have been formed to raise peoples awareness of the issue, get the family of wavesliders together and to do something about it. Initially the purpose is just to get people talking, considering the facts, the attacks and repercussions of not doing anything. Perhaps this will be enough to see things change. But if not, the long-term plan is to eventually build up 50,000 supporters, via email or Facebook, and then to have each person donate a measly R10, can't even get a block of wax for that anymore. 50.000 people's R10 becomes half a million rand, enough to hire a shit-hot legal team to challenge the Shark Cage Industry in court to change their ways drastically, possibly even outlawing the practice of chumming completely.

We're not scientists, or marine biologists, but we know the ocean and are seeing a frightening change.The fear is becoming a reality, and we've had enough. Its time wave-riders stand together and make a noise, turn this groundswell of awareness into a tidal wave of action, and sort this shit out. Surfers are notoriously apathetic, rather go surf than get worked up about things, but this issue affects us all, and no action could impact YOU directly, not someone else.