SHARK

CONSERVATION

The SharkSafe Barrier Company is working with several conservation organizations to improve public knowledge about sharks. People tend to fear most what they don’t know and sharks are among the most misunderstood and wrongfully persecuted creatures on our planet. With myths and legends spreading faster than scientific knowledge, sharks are often unfairly represented by media and documentaries alike.

Fear and misconception of sharks have been justifying their inhumane treatment by the public and government for decades, from finning practices to the deployment of shark nets and drumlines. We believe that providing a solution for safe surfing and swimming is just a small piece of a large puzzle, and only a combined effort between innovation, conservation and education will bring the much-needed change to existing shark-management policies.

ECOSYSTEM

WHY CONSERVE SHARKS?

Sharks preserve the health of marine ecosystems and their numbers have been declining worldwide due to human activities. Conserving sharks results in a long term social, economic and ecological benefit. Sharks can be a socio-economic resource for a region as an eco-tourism attraction.

References

  1. International Shark Attack File. Available at: https://www.qt.com.au/news/every-shark-attack-ever-recorded-captured-map/2674734/.
  2. O’Connell, C. P. et al. Effects of the Sharksafe barrier on white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) behaviour and its implications for future conservation technologies. J. Exp. Mar. Bio. Ecol. 460, 37–46 (2014).
  3. Kwazulu Natal Shark Board. KNSB Website. Available at:  http://www.shark.co.za/Pages/ProtectionSharks-NetsDrumlines.
  4. Report into the NSW Shark Meshing Program. (2016).
  5. Rosenblatt, A. et al. The Roles of Large Top Predators in Coastal Ecosystems: New Insights from Long Term Ecological Research. Oceanography 26, 156–167 (2013).
  6. Baum, J. K. & Worm, B. Cascading top-down effects of changing oceanic predator abundances. J. Anim. Ecol. 78, 699–714 (2009).
  7. Heithaus, M. R., Frid, A., Wirsing, A. J. & Worm, B. Predicting ecological consequences of marine top predator declines. Trends Ecol. Evol. 23, 202–210 (2008).
  8. Gallagher, A. J. & Hammerschlag, N. Global shark currency: The distribution frequency and economic value of shark ecotourism. Curr. Issues Tour. 14, 797–812 (2011).
  9. Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M., Barnes-Mauthe, M., Al-Abdulrazzak, D., Navarro-Holm, E. & Sumaila, U. R. Global economic value of shark ecotourism: implications for conservation. Oryx 47, 381–388 (2013).
  10. Cliff, G., Elst, R. P. Van Der, Govender, A., Witthuhn, T. K. & Bullen, E. M. First Estimates of Mortality and Population Size of White Sharks on the South African Coast. in Great White Shark, the biology of Carcharodon carcharias (1995).
  11. Dudley, S. F. J. & Simpfendorfer, C. A. Population status of 14 shark species caught in the protective gillnets off KwaZulu-Natal beaches, South Africa, 1978-2003. Mar. Freshw. Res. 57, 225–240 (2006).
  12. https://orangefootballclub.com/news/mozambique-hunts-to-kill-deadly-shark.html

References

SHARK HUMAN CONFLICT

SOME FACTS

  • From 2011 to 2016 there have been 491 registered shark attacks worldwide (43 fatal). 1
  • For reducing the number of shark-human encounters the most used system has always been to cull the sharks by using shark nets and drumlines. 2, 3
  • Culling technologies don’t provide a physical separation between beachgoers and sharks. In fact, in New South Wales (Australia), 65% of shark bites occur at netted beaches. Shark nets also resulted in large scale unjustified killing of marine animals (3944 in NSW over the past 20 years. 40% of these weren’t sharks, but whales, turtles and dolphins). 4
  • The loss of sharks proved to also cause an imbalance in the prey/predator distribution: smaller sharks and marine mammals increase in number and, by eating smaller fish and crustaceans have a negative impact on local fisheries and the health status of the marine ecosystem. 5, 6, 7
  • A reduction in the number of sharks also results in a loss for the shark eco-tourism businesses, valued at an excess of US$ 314 Mil a year worldwide. 8, 9
  • In Durban, South Africa, seven gill nets were deployed in 1952 (each 130 m long) and in the first year of operation 552 elasmobranchs (e.g. sharks, rays and skates) were caught in these nets. Since 1989, some live sharks have been released from the nets but it is estimated that only 12,5% of the sharks captured in anti-shark nets survive. 3, 10, 11
  • To date this problem, mostly in poorly developed countries, has not been addressed. As a response to an incident in Mozambique involving a bull shark (22/10/2015), “The Mozambican Maritime Administration has deployed a team of around 60 fishermen, biologists and local officials to hunt and kill a dangerous shark which attacked and killed a woman in the Bay of Inhambane in the south of the country“. 12
  • Have a look at “The Shark-net Film”: a 2019 documentary explaining the Gold Coast Shark Nets in Queensland, Australia. The Shark Nets are explained by industry professionals in a 30 minute short film, collated by Holly Richmond and assembled by Drishti Studios (Qld) (link to the documentary).
WATCH THE SHORT FILM

GO TO WEBSITE

Check out the “Envoy: Shark Cull” Documentary website for more information about shark nets in Australia (featuring also the SharkSafe Barrier™).

ENVOY: SHARK CULL

Shark Stories

SharkSafe BarrierTM directors, Anthony Mederer and Dr. Sara Andreotti launched SHARK STORIES! A podcast series hosted on Cliff Central

LISTEN NOW