South Africa : Great White Shark Conservation

In an effort to gain more information about the ecology of great white sharks and the threats they face, WCS launched a conservation research project in South Africa in 2002.  The waters off South Africa are perhaps the most important out of only a few areas around the world that host significant populations of white sharks in close proximity to the coast. South Africa pioneered conservation of this species by providing it with full protection status within its jurisdictional waters in 1991, a move that has been followed by a number of other countries, including Australia, Malta, Namibia, and the USA.

The Human Aspect
In the mid-1960's, as a result of increased shark attacks in the previous two decades, gill nets were placed along large sections of South Africa's kwaZulu-Natal coast to protect bathers. The nets, however, are still in place and great whites and other sharks traveling along the coast continue to get entangled in the nets and die of asphyxiation.  On the other hand, South Africans have taken advantage of the close proximity of white sharks in developing non-consumptive uses for the sharks through a strong ecotourism industry that focuses on viewing white sharks in their natural habitat.

Threats  
The major threats that great white sharks face worldwide are sport fisheries, which seek their jaws as trophies, and being accidentally caught in commercial fisheries, which prize their fins.  Shark fins are valuable in the Asian fish market for their use in shark fin soup, a luxury food worldwide.  White sharks have a slow growth and reproductive rate; therefore populations are more vulnerable to suffer a rapid decline if faced with high fishing pressures.  Steep declines in their abundance have in fact been documented in the Northwest Atlantic, Australia, and Northeast South Africa.  In addition, as apex predators, white sharks are less abundant globally than other marine wildlife.

WCS Activities
 

Due to its protection of significant numbers of great white sharks, South Africa is crucial to the future of these ocean giants. However, it is not known if white sharks frequently leave the protected areas, and if protection by a few countries, such as South Africa will guarantee their long-term survival. In 2002, Dr. Ramón Bonfil, WCS conservation fisheries scientist and shark expert, launched a study of great white sharks in partnership with the South African Marine and Coastal Management Branch and with the collaboration of two South African universities and the Natal Sharks Board. Now halfway through their third year, researchers and scientists continue to collect information on the long-range movements and local seasonality of great white sharks off the coast of South Africa using satellite-tracking devices and other techniques (Click here for more about the research). Since 2002, the research team has successfully attached a total of 43 satellite tags to white sharks in three areas off the South African coast. Of these, 25 were PAT tags (pop-up archival tags), which record environmental data from the sharks' surroundings once every minute (See PAT Tags). These tags then send the stored data via satellite at a later pre-programmed time at the end of the experiment. In addition, a total of 18 near-real-time satellite tags have been attached to white sharks during this long-term study (See Satellite Tags).  The near real-time satellite tags are a different type of tag which send transmissions to passing satellites each time the shark's fin breaks the water surface. These transmissions are used by the satellite to find accurate global positions of the sharks and track their detailed movements day after day. The information gained in this study will tell us the specific habitats sharks utilize and will provide the scientific foundation needed to design protection measures that guarantee the survival of great white sharks globally. Click here to see Photo Gallery

In addition to the field work, WCS has also spearheaded white shark conservation efforts by hosting a white shark conservation workshop in New York City during January 2004.  The 3 day workshop brought together shark experts from around the world to assess the status of white sharks and discuss conservation priorities and needs for them.  The workshop combined both presentations and discussion sessions to share research findings on the spatial dynamics of white sharks and to address what is being done to protect this species and what further actions need to be taken.  The attendees accomplished several goals during the workshop, including drafting a paper that was submitted to the Animals Committee of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna), writing a list of research priorities for white sharks, and discussing possible future research collaborations.

After less than three years, the outcomes of this research project have already been very significant in gaining more global protection for great white sharks. The greatest outcome so far is the recent listing of the white shark on Appendix II of CITES.  This means that trade in white shark parts will now be closely monitored globally and not allowed unless it is proven by the exporting country that the levels of trade will not be detrimental to the local white shark populations.  This global recognition that white sharks need further protection beyond national legislation is an important advance in the conservation of the species and will be very important for its future survival.  However, much more knowledge about this species is needed to ensure its long term conservation. WCS’s scientists plan to continue monitoring and collecting data about the migratory movements and other important ecological and biological aspects of great white sharks in South Africa and other regions.

Important Next Steps

• Continue and expand satellite tagging to monitor the long-range movements and space utilization of white sharks of different sex and age in other regions of the world.
• Improve public awareness and involvement (especially of local people) through web-based applications that follow the movements of the tagged sharks
• Provide the South African government with science-based advice for the sustainable management of the non-consumptive industry based on white sharks (cage diving)
• Develop and implement more inclusive science-based conservation measures for white sharks in other regions based on the results of the tagging program