Tens of thousands of people visit South Africa each year and partake in Shark Cage Diving tours, run in Cape Town, Gansbaai and Mossel Bay along the Cape coast. The general message which is spread is that Shark Cage Diving has no negative impact at all, sharks do not associate humans with the food (chum), the increase (if any) is due to Great Whites being a protected species, and if there was a connection why aren't there more attacks in the precise areas where the Cage Diving is taking place? They go as far as to say it actually is a good thing as it generates alot of money for Shark Research. But there are some startling facts when you scratch the surface, facts that point to a far darker result than the profiteering shark-divers are willing to admit. Read through these four facts below, and make up your own mnd if think it still is a harmless, eco-friendly activity.
DISCLAIMER: These Cold Facts are based on the best science available, combined with common sense and experiential knowledge of thousands of hours in the oceans. Justin Othersurfa and his liquid slide-warriors do not claim to be scientists, just concerned individuals sparking a flame in group consciousness over a very worrisome issue affecting our crystal-tunnel seeking existence. In a field where standard scientific hypotheses is virtually impossible due to the myriad factors, we offer a wave of awareness born from the belly of Mother Ocean, and the hearts of her modern-day mermaids and riders of the storms.
| 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.
That's an increase of one attack every 3 years with 0.01 fatalities, to nearly 5 a year with just under one death PER YEAR! THIS IS NOT A JOKE. Info compiled from scientific data from International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History and The Natal Sharks Board South Africa 
Shark Cage Diving started in South African waters in... 1991 |
| This
is probably the biggest argument in this whole environmental
tragedy. Most Shark Cage Dive companies say they
DO NOT feed the sharks, as it is actually illegal
according to their licenses to do so. Those that
admit to chumming the waters deny any link that
the sharks associate the boats and caged humans
with food, even though they are blatantly attracted
to the food that is poured into the water. It is
really a common-sense issue, as it is quite obvious
that repeated feeding of any animal by humans will
reduce the animal's fear of humans, whereby increasing
the chance of attack.
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| A common
argument supplied by the Shark Dive companies and
supporters is that if shark cage diving had an impact
on increasing attacks, why are there not more attacks
in the specific areas where the Cage Diving tours
take place? This is a non-sensical argument, and does not take into account that Great White sharks are migratory in nature. Scientific evidence has succesfully tagged Great Whites travelling from South Africa to Australia and back in a 6 month period, so these creatures most certainly do change locations, and so any negative change in their behaviour should be of concern to not only South African surfers, but pretty much anyone using the ocean in the Southern Hemisphere. So therefore, a shark that is 'humanised' in South Africa could end up biting someone as far away as Western Australia. Fact, not fiction. For a full detailed account of the trans-oceanic migration of Great White Sharks visit www.whitesharktrust.org/migration.html
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Great
White Sharks are usually thought of as small-brained,
blood-thirsty man-eaters, thanks more to the movie
JAWS, than actual scientific fact. Scientists put
on the spot seem to know very little about Great Whites.
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