Marine laws flouted for 'the Jaws experience'
Melanie Gosling - September 21 2006 at 04:57AM
Some South African shark cage diving operators, eager to give their clients a hyped-up "Jaws experience", are feeding Great White sharks and knocking them on their snouts to get them to open their jaws.
This was an observation made by researchers Ryan Johnson of the University of Pretoria and Alison Kock of Iziko Museums in a two-year study into shark cage diving.
"I like to think they are in the minority, but it happens. I've seen it," Johnson said.
Feeding and touching sharks contravene the operators' permit conditions laid down by the Department of Environmental Affairs' Marine and Coastal Management. Other illegal activities included towing "human or surfboard" decoys to get sharks to breach; allowing clients to climb on a whale carcass while sharks fed on it; and throwing gumballs into sharks' mouths.
Observers in the study accompanied shark cage boats in Gansbaai, Mossel Bay and False Bay on 601 trips on which 2 565 sharks were observed.
Their main finding was that shark cage diving was not contributing to the rise in attacks.
Sharks often failed to respond to chumming from the cage dive boats, an indication of "negative conditioning": they stopped investigating chum slicks because they failed to get a reward.
But the researchers also sounded a warning about some operators who disregarded regulations. They said sufficient evidence existed to confirm that Great White sharks could become conditioned by baiting.
As well as chumming, operators are allowed to tie bait onto a rope to attract the sharks.
Johnson said: "The purpose is not to feed the shark, just to lure it. If you use the bait only as a lure, it is impossible to condition the shark. But if they get the bait, they get a reward, and an association can be formed, they can become conditioned. It's impossible to distinguish between intentional and non-intentional feeding."
The permit stipulates that if the shark gets the bait, the operator should let the rope go slack, but some pulled the shark up to the boat, where it thrashed around and crashed into the cage, allowing tourists to get dramatic photographs. Some also knocked the shark on its snout.
The study said cage diving clients had high expectations.
"For 30 years the white shark has been portrayed as the ultimate hunter of humans, and it is undeniably this 'Jaws reputation' that has been the catalyst for the cage diving industry's success.
"Such a marketing opportunity has been capitalised on by many of the operators ... Pressure exists for operators to disregard certain regulations, particularly feeding and wrestling sharks, to produce a good show."
