CAN WHITE SHARKS BE CONDITIONED ?

What do they say: However the activity is proving controversial, particularly with local residents, surfers, divers and fishermen, who insist that baiting the sharks to approach humans and boats is linked to a worrying rise in local attacks.

What do we say:

The first thing to do is to be able to identify individual sharks so their behaviour can be studied. We have done underwater videos on a regular basis and have collected a lot of footage of the sharks visiting the boat. Mr Dion Sadie of the University of Stellenbosch started an identification program which we continued with after he passed away. This was to identify White sharks by their pigmentation patterns since this was the only positive way to identify one White shark from another.

The pigmentation pattern is normally observed on the lower lobe of the caudal fin (tail ) and if the pattern is absent then it is observed at the bottom of the first three gill slits. By recording this it is possible to recognise a White shark the next time it comes round and in this way be able to learn more about the behavior of White sharks.

White sharks come into the area and would normally stay for between 3 and 6 days. White sharks have a loose social structure between members of the same group and never get close to each other. They show aggression towards each other when they get close and some very nasty bite marks on the body may result.

Minced tuna which has been frozen into solid blocks and placed in net bags work well to attract white sharks to the boat. Care has to be taken to place the bags in such a way that the shark is not able to get hold of it. It does not take long for a White shark to find out where the bag has been placed and they would then hang around that area and attempt to get at the bag.

A tuna head is attached to the bait line and camouflaged with a head of kelp fronds to prevent the shark from getting at the bait. This works very well and the shark is never fed, which means there are no rewards to condition the shark. Frequent rewards per day would be required for a period of about fourteen days in order to condition a shark. In our situation this will never be possible so there is no fear of conditioning.

Since the operators are permitted only 25 Kg of bait per boat per day we do not attempt to allow the shark to take the bait and the bait will be pulled away when the shark attempts to take it. This action is known as unconditioning when the shark is not given a reward when it comes to the boat.

White sharks may come up to our boat a number of times in one day and it is very unlikely that we will have that same shark around for more than three days and it may be in the area for about six days from our observations so the chance of it being conditioned is very remote. White sharks do go to boats and has been, ever since fishing boats have been around. They do take fish off the lines of fishermen so the only conditioning that there may be is the fact that sharks do associate fishing boats and all boats with a source of food.

Uilenskraalmond Caravan Park at the mouth of the Uilenskraal river is within six kilometers of the allocated cage diving area and the beach at the river mouth is a very popular swimming and surfing spot with hundreds of people in the water during the summer holidays. During the summer months it is welknown that White sharks are behind the breakers along this part of the coast. Pilots from light aircraft have reported White sharks swimming in the area where swimmers are in the water and there has never been a shark attack in this area.

If chumming and the cage diving activity was responsible for shark attacks in False Bay then why does it not happen along this stretch of coast where eight operators are working in the area. Is this not sufficient proof that cage diving activity has an effect on the behaviour of White sharks?

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