10 foot Great white shark caught in South African Shark Control Program

Great white shark caught off Sunwich Port

 
By SUGAN NAIDOO, looklocal,
11. January 2013

The 316kg animal had a satellite tag attached to its dorsal fin.

A GREAT white shark was caught on a drum line at Sunwich Port, near Port Shepstone yesterday (Thursday). The animal was 3.1m in length and weighed in at 316kg. The shark was taken to the  Sharks Board’s headquarters at Umhlanga.

Sheldon Dudley, chief scientist at the Sharks Board, said the shark was found by its Pumula base staff at about 6am, during routine early morning checks. “The shark had been satellite tagged on  it its dorsal fin.  This tagging was done by South African researchers with the assistance of Ocearch, a US based organisation that had funded the research, and provided the satellite tags and a research ship to attach the tags to the sharks,” he said.

Mr Dudley added that there are between 20 and 30 sharks caught  in shark nets and by drum lines each year. “The advantage of drum lines, which are  large, anchored floats from which a single baited hook is suspended, is that, unlike sharks nets, they do not catch a lot of other animals,  such as  dolphins, turtles and rays.”

Most of the shark nets deployed by the KZNSB are 214m long and 6m deep and are secured at each end by two 35 kg anchors; all have a stretched mesh of 51 cm.  The nets are laid in two parallel rows approximately 400m offshore and in water depths of 10-14m. Most beaches are protected either by two nets or one net and four drum lines, but this varies from beach to beach.

Source and Photo Credit: looklocal.co.za

7 Comments

  1. Mark

    Here we go again. So we come to another debate of whether this shark was on its way to shore to attack a human. Probably not. Almost certainly not. Do these drum lines prevent human attacks?  We can never determine that for sure, can we?…so it will continue. This seems to be someone’s proactive policy to eliminate attacks on humans. Fair enough, but why are we as humans “entitled” to swim, surf, snorkel those waters without risk?  Who made that determination and why do they have that right to do so?  These are the questions that I can get past.  Human life is always, always held in the highest regard as it should be. If shark life is held to the same level, then we start the conversation to protect both. I like of idea of until we have better answers we stay out of the water, in high risk areas, or assume the risk. Thank God sharks aren’t like us because if someone comes into my home I’m going to defend it. 

  2. Angel

    Some people tag a shark to undertand them better and find soluttions to protect them.
    Other people kill that shark that a search is being conducted.
    This clearly shows that the durmlines kills sharks without any diffirienciation, the type of shark, the size of shark. It is a killing machine that does not give a damn about what it is killing. Who lay them. ?
    People with the order of politicians. So who actually owns the killing machines ? Governments and the politicians.
    They are the real killers.

  3. chris

    So true i have been educating young people about sharks.   Sharks are beautiful creatures that God created.   However, people killed them faster then the shark can produce their young.   What a shame to our Government people who are afraid to save a shark!

  4. Carl

    What a waste of a magnificent young animal. If he had reached full maturity I reckon he would have been a 20 footer! Sad.

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