Sharks play a vital role in maintaining the eco system. Those who love sea swimming can find this daunting but shark attacks are incredibly rare. South Africa has some hot spots, such as Port St Johns, where swimming is not allowed. Plettenberg Bay beaches have lookouts and flags go up to warn that there is a temporary ban on swimming. The warm KZN waters are protected by shark nets or drum lines, but these are controversial as they do more than protect, they kill sharks plus other marine life too. A better protective option is being tested by Stellenbosch University.
ATP tracking off Port St Johns, recently showed the following results over 8 months of detecting: 12 bronze whalers, 8 dusky sharks, 3 bull sharks, 2 blacktip sharks, 1 spinner shark, 1 ragged tooth shark, 1 scalloped hammerhead, 1 smooth hound shark, 1 giant sand shark (AKA whitespotted wedgefish), 1 spotted gully shark and 1 white shark.
Sharks have been around for over 400 million years and have remained virtually unchanged in their current forms for around 70 million years.
Sharks, rays and skates all belong to the class of cartilaginous fish – their skeletons being made up of cartilage, unlike those of bony fish.
The teeth of all sharks are continuously replaced throughout the animal’s life. Instead of swim bladders, sharks have large livers to increase buoyancy and store nutrients.
All species of shark are carnivorous; they have a keen sense of smell and are highly sensitive to vibrations and electrical impulses. Of the various species of shark found off South Africa the majority are harmless and are rarely encountered. Only a few species have been implicated in bites on humans.
There is the option of cage diving but we recommend guided diving with them as a better experience.
Shark Diving recommendations
Shark Warrior Adventure Centre African Watersports
Two of our recommended dive companies have principals’ renowned for work with sharks. The first is Simons Town based Shark Warrior Adventure Centre. Lesley Rochat is famed for her conservation work with sharks. Photo is NOT photo shopped.
The second is African Watersports with Walter Bernadis who known as the Shark Whisperer and runs shark diving expeditions off Aliwal Shoal and surrounds. His dives can involve turning sharks upside down to induce tonic immobility in order to remove hooks embedded in them.
