79 Shark Attacks in South Africa
Over the past 20 years there has been 79 unprovoked shark attacks on human beings in South Africa. Out of these 9 were lethal. And out of these tragedies, one happened very recently (read about South Africa’s latest shark attack on thescubasite.com). In the same time span Australia has had 122 and Florida has had a shocking 425 attacks. However, it turns out that the Australian attacks are the most deadly with 19 fatal attacks, ten more than South Africa and 15 more than Florida.
One rumor, that I have not confirmed, is that South Africa’s great white sharks have become more dangerous for us humans as a result of the popular tourist activity, “Cage Diving”. According to the rumor, the reason is that the cage divers attract the sharks by feeding them yummy shark food. And over time the great white has learned that human activity equals free loads of tasty shrimps (or whatever they give them). Hence, they associate humans with food and will start eating us!
I will do more research on this in the morning, and in the meantime you readers are more than welcome to share your knowledge with me. Do you think cage diving leads to shark attacks? -Leave a comment!
Great read. Its interesting that where there are some of teh best beaches for surfers there is increased risk of shark attacks! I dont think personally that cage diving leads to shark attacks. I think the sharks become more ‘pet’ like because they are getting a regular mean when the cage divers chum the water.
Yeah, I don’t know what to believe about the cage diving..
But as you mention, the best surf beaches often have a high risk of shark attacks. And I guess one reason might be the big crowds of people dressed up like tasty seals floating around on the surface.. How can any healthy shark resist that temptation?
Great discussion – my understanding is that Great White Sharks are 100% feeders of opportunity and cannot “learn” or be trained (like dolphins). They cannot even be kept in captivity. That is why chumming does not change their patterns – either they are there or they or not. Unfortunately, if they see a swimmer and mistake it for a seal (usually in low visibility conditions) they will attack.
I strongly support shark cage diving from a conservation and education perspective – it is a great way for people to better understand Great Whites and clear up the “Jaws” misconceptions.
They should be protected but also respected – they are fascinating yet dangerous creatures.
I recommend the book “Shark Man: My Obsession With The Great White Shark” by Theo Ferreira – he is the expert…
And fyi, I don’t run a shark cage diving operation – I just enjoy the experience!
Ray, thanks for sharing your knowledge! I seems like the “humans=food rumor” was just a rumor after all then.
And I do expect that I will try the cage shark diving in Cape Town one of these days.
As far as I am concerned shark cage diving is wrong and should be banned completely. I am an old Surfer and life guard from the age of six and now turning 40, spending most of my time along the South Coast from Port Edward to Durban between 1976 and2000. There were many of us who surfed daily irrespective of the water conditions even when bathing was banned due to (storms, the annual sardine run and Neptune and spring tides). “Ray- even stupid people are intelligent when they keep quiet”.
Recently I have been blessed and am now able to return to the waters of the sea to surf with my daughter who is 16 along the Garden Route in the Cape. I have rarely been in these waters, we have found some awesome surfing spots with no shark nets and will not even let the thought of getting attacked by a shark stop us from going in.
Having recently heard about the shark attack in False Bay I wondered what could possibly cause these sharks to attack bathers and surfers. After some deliberation about this there was only one conclusion. Cage diving has caused these shark attacks to increase since it started and no it is not similar to watching lions feed. Think about it?