Using large props of a shark, whale and octopus, all made from recycled plastic picked up on the beaches, the Jungle Theatre crew, accompanied by eager participants dancing to the beat of the djembe drummers moved down the beach encouraging everybody to pick up the litter.

Save our Seas Shark Centre took part in this unique festival in partnership with the KELP project. Using the kelp 2010 Vuvuzelas, Terry and Michael, both from the SOSSC Education department held an impromptu ‘Vuvuzela blowing competition’ which attracted throngs of youngsters to the SOS stall.

These SeaSmartKidz programmes build on environmental knowledge by introducing young children to sharks and the marine environment in fun and innovative ways, including intertidal studies, shark lessons, arts and crafts and learning to dive.

Head of Education of SOSSC Terry Corr says that ‘teaching children how to be Sea Smart means to instill a strong environmental ethic at a young age, which is a priority for the Save our Seas Shark Centre’.

Studying white sharks along the False Bay coast. Hours of surveying is required to spot the sharks swimming inshore.

Following reports from the Shark Spotters of shark sightings close to shore within the last two weeks in False Bay, the Save Our Seas Foundation white shark research team headed out to survey the coast for sharks and attempt to tag one of them. They found a white shark at 12h42 on Tuesday 8^th December swimming along the surface between Seal Island and Strandfontein. After monitoring the shark’s behaviour for a few minutes the research boat slowly approached the shark to get a photographic identification of its dorsal fin, assign a catalogue number and determine the shark’s size and sex. After closer inspection it was determined that the shark was a 3-meter female, subsequently named Deepblue.

Collecting the dorsal ID of the 3-meter female white shark subsequently named Deepblue. Naming the sharks makes recording re-sighting information much easier in the field than remembering the complicated catalogue number.

Alison Kock, the white shark project leader with the SOSF and Shark Spotters, then tagged the animal at the base of her dorsal fin. The tag allowed the researchers to follow the shark in real time using specialized equipment mounted on the boat. “It is important to asses the shark’s behaviour while doing a track such as this in order to maintain the correct tracking distance; too far and the shark could swim out of range, too close and the boat disturbs her behaviour,” said Alison.

Alison tags Deepblue with a Vemco continuous pinger at the base of her dorsal fin. The tag emits a continuous signal which is used to track in real time.

Although the research team was prepared to track her across False Bay, Deepblue remained in the general area between Strandfontein and Seal Island. She was in no hurry to swim anywhere and her swimming speed varied between 2 – 4 km / hour. Deepblue spent a considerable amount of time at the surface and sometimes it appeared as though she was just drifting in the current and not actively swimming at all. Occasionally she swam within 200 meters from the coast before swimming as far as 4 kilometers offshore again.

Morne and Brocq (aka Maverick and Goose) take the first shift tracking Deepblue.

The team recorded interesting behaviour like this where a large yellowtail, Seriola lalandi, was seen swimming alongside the shark. PS. Look carefully between the pectoral fin and caudal fin to see the fish.

During the daylight track the team observed Deepblue approach another white shark of similar size at the surface. She slowly followed the second shark within 5 meters for a few seconds before breaking off the encounter and swimming in the opposite direction. Deepblue’s night behaviour was similar to her daytime behaviour, except that she went further offshore and also made some excursions in the direction of Gordon’s Bay and then towards Muizenberg, but always returning to Strandfontein.

“We did, however get an unforgettable surprise during the night, when bioluminescent plankton lit up both the ocean and the shark in a sparkling green glow,” said Alison.

A magical sunset in False Bay in the company of a white shark named Deepblue

No wind, calm waters, a sunset to take your breath away. This is what it's all about.

The research has previously documented the inshore behaviour of white sharks during summer. However, it is still unclear why exactly the sharks are present close to shore. Three predominant theories exist, namely 1) the sharks are predating on summer fish and smaller species of shark prevalent in the bay during summer time 2) environmental conditions such as warmer water or oxygen rich water may be what’s attracting them and 3) the inshore behaviour may be related to reproduction. Tracking the sharks in this way is a step towards determining the factors involved in inshore white shark activity.

The team would like to thank Dave Hurwitz of Simonstown Boat Company for assisting with the logistics of the track. Keep track of the team yourself when the next weather gap lets them track white sharks again at www.saveourseas.com.

Adrian and Brocq in good spirits even though we were all cold and starving during the night time track. Note to scientist - put food and coffee higher up on priority list next time around.

A spectacular sunrise in False Bay.

Additional information

The Save Our Seas Foundation White Shark Project was initiated in 2003 and is a dedicated research programme focusing on the ecology and behaviour of white sharks in False Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. It is collaboration between the Save Our Seas Shark Center, University of Cape Town, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marine and Coastal Management Branch and Shark Spotters.

Latest shark sightings

Muizenberg 10 December

St James 8 December

Muizenberg 8 December

Noordhoek 8 December

St James 7 December

Muizenberg 7 December

Muizenberg 5 December

St James 28 November

Muizenberg x 2 28 November

Muizenberg 25 November

Media contact

Alison Kock

White Shark Project Leader

Save Our Seas Foundation and Shark Spotters

Email: alison@saveourseas.com

Website: www.saveourseas.com & www.sharkspotters.org.za

On Wednesday, 2 December 2009, 430 learners from 14 high schools and junior schools from the South Peninsula, including 30 learners from COSAT in Khayelitsha, walked 8km in howling South Easter winds along a stretch of the coast from Muizenberg to Glencairn.

This AOCA initiative  brought together the support of a number of governmental and non governmental organizations including SOS Shark Centre, SANCCOB, Dolphin Action Protection Group, Centre for Conservation Education, Kelp Environmental Learning Project, Seal Alert SA, Table Mountain National Park, City of Cape Town (YES programme), Jungle Theatre, Baboon Matters, Metrorail, NSRI, Western Cape Education Department, Science Education Resources Initiative, SA Navy, KEAG, Whale of a Heritage Route, REEF, Bright Weights, Pisces Divers, and Shark Lady Adventures.

The hike began with a celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony at Surfers Corner at Muizenberg to set off 100 learners dressed in the resplendent sea blue AfriOceans Warriors T-shirts and caps. The blustery South Easter could not dampen the enthusiasm of the long line of learners as they chanted ‘Save the Oceans, Save the Sharks!’ while displaying their hand painted banners.

After a tiring but exhilarating hike walking through the historic coastal villages of St. James, Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek, the hikers arrived at the seaside village of Glencairn for the closing ceremony and the symbolic handing over of the AfriOceans Warriors Scrolls, by the two lead schools, Muizenberg High and Muizenberg Junior.

In closing Lesley Rochat thanked everyone for their exceptional efforts and shared some of the highlighted environmental issues, including climate change, overfishing, and poaching and poor fisheries management, contained in the hugely symbolic scrolls that were then handed over to the invited dignitaries by the learners. Thereafter, and thanks to the fantastic generosity and commitment of Metrorail, a free ride home by train was a welcome relief for the weary hikers, as they chatted and shared photos on their cell phones and swapped stories about their historic adventure as young AfriOceans Warriors.

The Save Our Seas Shark Centre was proud to be associated with such a well organized and well supported initiative and we look forward to playing a significant part in the extended AfriOceans Campaign in 2010.

Terry Corr, Save our Seas Shark Centre

They were brought to the centre by Keith Edwards. He visited last week to discuss possibilities of bringing groups of tourists to the centre as part of the programme leading up to and involving the 2010 soccer world cup as well as bringing groups of children regularly to the centre as part of the Edutrain programme. This was an opportunity to develop our relationship with Metrorail further and to reach more people with our education programme. Lesley gave a presentation and after this they were shown the award winning video ‘Sharks in Deep Trouble.’

Terry gave a lecture and I showed them how I do the rock pool lesson. All went well. The previous day we were visited by a group of children from Kewtown Primary School in Athlone. We did a clean up of the Dalebrook Beach and I told them afterwards how important their contribution was. I explained how a few months ago this beach had been littered with broken glass, bricks and rubble and stones from the railway line above. The bricks had been so long on the beach that they were worn round. As part of our clean-up during national clean-up week (September) we had removed a truck load of these bricks. These were used for paving in Masiphumelele. Rounded pieces of glass were used by Charmaine to decorate a ceramic pot.

I explained how the beach had been changed in a few hours by a few children after standing neglected for many years and how this demonstrated how simply a meaningful difference can be made. The teacher of this group told me he would prepare a petition for the kids to sign requesting that a wall be built by Metrorail along the edge of the railway line to keep the stones from falling down and that they would arrange a visit to move the remaining stones off the beach.

This was a great way to end the lesson and the following day we were sent this petition signed by the children which we presented to Metrorail. All in all good progress for our education programme. Michael Carnegie and Terry Corr.

Seal Island is renowned for it's breaching white sharks

The day started off badly when one of the boat’s batteries and battery connection were fried by the saltwater finding its way inside the box. Two hours later with a new battery connected we were on our way only to have the day turn worse when the south easterly wind that was predicted to die down – didn’t. Diving at the island is a logistical nightmare as we have strict codes of conduct and best practices, set out by our Department of Labour, that we need to adhere to when diving for work or research. There are many potential risks to consider, including the possibility of a shark bite. The receivers were deployed in the sharkiest waters at Seal Island to record maximum shark activity, but this means that they are located in the prime hunting areas around the island, 30 meters down.

The cage provides safety to the divers when descending and ascending

In an area where white sharks are world renowned for their ambush attack strategy on seals, you can forgive the divers for feeling a little apprehensive getting into the water here. As a result we need to ensure that we drop the divers on the mark, as close as possible, so that searching for the instrument is reduced or even eliminated, this means dropping a shot line on the exact GPS position. This proved very tricky on the day due to the fact that the wind was coming from one direction and a 1.5 knot current was running in another. We need to deploy a safety cage that the divers can use when descending and ascending, but the cage also needs to be dropped on the exact location and be relatively stable otherwise it can be a liability rather than a safety measure.

Morne getting ready to dive with replacement receiver in hand

Once in position (and on this day it took us nearly one hour just to get to this point) the divers descend as quickly as possible. The most vulnerable position for a diver is on the surface and in the middle of the water column and so getting to the bottom as quick as possible is vital. Once on the bottom the divers will locate the mooring and receiver and start to loosen the bolts holding the receiver in place. Good visibility makes the dive safer and easier, but on this day the visibility at the bottom was only about one meter adding to the stress. However, Morne and Steve, who were the primary divers, have been assisting the research this way since 2001 and 2004 respectively, and their experience makes all the difference here. Each receiver costs about USD1200 so we don’t want to lose one, but the data they collect over the season is priceless and we definitely don’t want to lose one of those. Ensuring that the old instrument is recovered and the new instrument is deployed correctly and securely is essential to the success of the project, not to mention determining how much sleep I get.

Brocq and Rob pulling up the cage

Every minute the divers are down I hold my breath and typically if they are longer than 10 minutes I start to sweat a little. Everyone on the boat has an important role to play, but none as important as lifting the cage once the divers are ready to ascend. Ascending at a rate greater than 18 meters / minute is dangerous and if a diver has a problem ascending, such as a reverse block, we need to know when to stop hauling the cage up. This means we need exceptional communication between the divers and crew on board. Lifting the cage is no easy task either, but luckily we had Brocq and Rob, two strong lads to do most of the lifting. Each dive done this way takes up nearly two hours.

Growth builds up on the receivers from being left on the seafloor for 12 months

Of course the most exciting thing for me is rushing home afterwards and hooking the receiver up to my laptop to download the data. The downloading time depends on how much data is stored on the instrument and when it takes a long time I know that we have some great data which makes everything worthwhile. The instruments revealed that a number of sharks tagged in 2008 returned to the island over the winter season, but they also recorded a 4 meter shark tagged in 2007 and surprisingly (and very cool) a shark I tagged in 2005 who was 4 meters at the time of tagging so must be in the 5 meter range now. We did not record both these sharks at the boat this season, highlighting once again the information collected from acoustic tagging and tracking provides us with information we would otherwise be oblivious too. Data like this is essential for understanding white shark activity patterns and using the information in conservation and management applications.

Marking the receiver is critical to ensure I know which location the data comes from

My deepest thanks to everyone on board, namely, Morne, Steve, Brocq, Rob, Megan and Sam for taking all the great photos.

First creating a Consider Us logo, this transformed into a 350 logo within seconds.

The play based on the book Sue finds Happy Eddie, was written by Lesley Rochat and tells the story of Thandi, a young Capetonian who dreamed of becoming a surfer and riding the waves at Muizenberg, on the False Bay coast. In her dreams, she meets up with the sea spirit who takes her on a journey to meet the different sharks in the sea. She searches for a shy shark, Happy Eddy, who has gone missing from the Save our Seas Shark Centre. The play also highlights the threats to sharks, how to be ‘Shark Wise’ and the role of the Shark Spotters in ensuring safety when swimming at our beaches.

We thank our generous benefactor for enabling us to reach these children.

As a public venue we are often the first call – be it a seal rescue, a whale beaching or in this case a gent that had dislocated his shoulder. We responded to all of the above; Monday – a seal rescue, Tuesday – alerted to the Orca that had beached on Sunset Beach, Milnerton and then the real first aid call on Thursday. What a week!

Rest assured, we take our roles very seriously and will continue to do so.