After great white shark populations around Cape Town’s False Bay dwindled, Environment Minister, Barbara Creecy, is calling for public comment on a proposal to extend the shark cage diving operating area closer to Strandfontein beach in the Western Cape.
The proposal is out for public comment until 2 October and if approved, will allow for the temporary operating area of shark cage diving inshore, adjacent to Strandfiontein beach – permitting operators to work 1.3 to 2.5 km offshore.
The proposed extension is intended to revive the ailing shark diving tourism industry, which has been struggling since great whites began disappearing in 2017.
In July of this year, a study scientific study confirmed that Cape Town’s great whites likely disappeared because of the presence of orcas in False Bay that triggered an en-masse migration.
‘False Bay is the only area of the three shark cage diving operations that haven’t got an inshore operating area, because even when the white sharks were here, our business was always curtailed to white shark patterns and could not interact with the bronze whalers,’ Rob Lawrence, Founder of African Shark Eco-Charters told Daily Maverick.
With the disappearance of great whites, charter companies are looking to utilise other shark species prevalent in the bay to revive the industry. ‘We needed to restructure our business and start working with other species of sharks,’ said Chris Fallows, co-founder of Apex Shark Expeditions.
False Bay is also home to other species like bronze whalers and sevengill sharks.
The public can submit their comment to [email protected]. For telephone queries, contact 012 399 8816, or 060 834 2477.
Picture: Getaway gallery
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