The proposal to temporarily extend the False Bay white shark cage diving operating area inshore, adjacent to Strandfontein Beach, received a passionate and resounding no from affected communities at a public meeting held on Wednesday 28 September.
Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the environment, invited the community to provide comment on the proposal after a decline in shark cage diving tourism.
If approved, shark cage diving operators would be allowed to operate 1,3 km from shore using chumming methods to attract sharks such as bronze whalers that are already in the area.
Clint Abrahams, a volunteer at the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), said it is simply not a good idea to be chumming close to shore.
“I’ve been in sea rescue for about 40 years so I am a crewman but I have been a skipper.
“We run a rescue base, NSRI station 16, the primary aim of which is to assist people in difficulty and the secondary is to promote safety at sea.
“We understand the dynamic and movement of predators. When people chum and the prevailing wind is South East, it brings the chum ashore and the sharks follow the trail and before you know it, they are in the surf line.”
He added that shark cage diving companies were not regulated and some were operating without permits.
“The shark cage diving people have been operating for the past three to four months, around a kilometre off shore, already without permits and there is no-one to regulate it.
“Seal island is 3,2 nautical miles off shore, which is 6 km, so they are basically a kilometre from the shore.
“And that is in the surf zone where life guards train, where small rescue crafts, paddle skiers, paddle boarders and kite surfers operate.”
Igshaan Carstens, founder of the Strandfontein Agricultural Aquamarine and Boating Association, said he was against the proposal because of the potential threat of having shark activity closer to shore.
“The distance of 1,3 km what they said . . . for a shark to cover that distance . . . you just blink and then he is right next to you.”
Loadshedding did not deter fishermen, divers, surfers, NSRI volunteers and tour operators from gathering in a dimly lit Strandfontein Community Hall to have their say.
“I am a spear fisherman; I dive and I am also a boat fisherman.
“I love sharks, I swim with sharks, but I know which ones to swim with. If it is a Great White, trust me you would want your burial policy in order.”
Referring to a recent shark attack that occurred in Plettenberg Bay, Carstens added that swimmers would have no chance if attacked by a Great White.
“The sea activity happening in Plettenberg Bay for example, the lady was standing in the water, she wasn’t even swimming and the shark came.
“Imagine there are a lot of people in the water on a nice day at the beach here at Strandfontein.”
Jamie Nye, a lifelong surfer and diver from Kommetjie who spends a considerable amount of time in the water, said he is always conscious of any change to shark behaviour.
“Working in surf tourism specifically we have a lot of international people who come to the stretch of beach and bring a lot of money into the area who are going to be scared off because of more shark activity.
“This stretch of coast is really important culturally and historically because it is shared between three different race groups and it’s not just one community benefiting from the coast.
“It’s our right to use these waters without fear of putting ourselves in further danger.”
He added that sharks should be respected and not taunted.
“I have a great respect for sharks and I think shark cage diving practices are really disrespectful to an apex predator. We are all very versed in Cape Town about not feeding the baboons and yet it is okay to taunt with food these five-metre creatures with teeth.”
Riyaad Mohiden, from Lansdowne, is totally against the process of chumming, he says.
“We are dealing with an apex predator, a very intelligent creature, so it is a very adaptive creature.
“Although bronze whalers don’t attack people you are maybe going to have the whole food cycle chain started because Great Whites feed off bronzies.
“By them doing the chum operations they are causing a chain reaction of events to take place, so that is my reason for opposition to that process.”
Richard van Greunen, a resident of Marina da Gama who has surfed for around 44 years, said many businesses would be affected if the proposal was approved.
“I think I understand enough about sharks to know that I respect them, but by the same token I don’t need to actually try and bring them to shore.
“I think what affects me more is when they are looking at doing the shark cage diving out here, the local community gets absolutely nothing out of this.
“You have a lot of local businesses that survive in summer on the local community coming to the beach and they are just not going to come.
“My only hope is that people do sign the documents against the proposal because tonight you can see you are getting a 100% no.”
