The city of Cape Town wants the expansion of the Great White shark cage diving industry stopped until scientific evidence irrefutably shows that it does not increase the risk of shark attacks or harm the shark ecology.
So says the City in comment on the draft Great White Shark Cage Diving Policy and Regulations.
There have been nine shark attacks, three of which were fatal, since 2000.
The public feels such attacks are the result of the conditioning of Great Whites, meaning baiting and chumming methods such as those used in the cage diving industry, which increase the danger of shark attacks, according to Gregg Oelofse, of the City’s environmental resource management department.
Oelofse said some studies have suggested that there is actually no conditioning of sharks as a result of cage diving, but that there is a need for ongoing research.
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