White Shark Projects

Weekly Poll #1

White Shark Projects — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:49:58 +0000

Weekly Poll #1

White Shark Projects — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:44:49 +0000

An unusual day at sea

White Shark Projects — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:53:45 +0000

By: Frank Pey

We are still working in our inshore area, Jouberts Dam.
On the 4th February on our second trip of the day a patch of milky green water moved through the area, typical of this time of year.
A large flock of Cape Cormorants, probably in their thousands landed near this patch of murky water and it looked like they were feeding on lots of live fish near the surface of the water.
The currents moved the murky water closer to the area surrounding the boat, the large schools of horse mackerel began to disperse and the sharks that had been working around the boat appeared to be slower and less active.
What was unusual was what happened shortly after when a large number of dead grey mullet, approximately 50 – 100 individuals came floating past the boat.
There is no clear reason as to why this happened. It is rare for us to observe dead fish floating around the boat, unless it’s the tuna head on the bait line! One possible theory is that the dissolved oxygen levels in the water could have been very low causing the fish to die and to possibly make the sharks less active.
This event is useful to highlight the delicate balance that occurs in our oceans. The slightest change can cause a chain reaction of events.
Here at White Shark Projects we are very concerned about our ocean. We are busy collecting signatures to prevent them building a nuclear power station in the area. Imagine the unbalance that could cause!!

Stingray Excitement

White Shark Projects — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:08:08 +0000

By: Frank Pey

The 30th was a declared a no sea day, so the volunteers, Michael, Satu and Deborah and I decided to head off to Cape Agulhas and see if we could entice the elusive stingrays in the area to make an appearance for once. It has been a while since we have been able to see them there.
Our days at sea usually start very early so leaving at 9am meant a well-deserved lie in for the volunteers!
We made our way to Cape Agulhas via the back gravel roads as there was a fynbos fire around the Stanford area making the main road difficult to drive along. We made our way past Baardskeerdersbos, taking in the sights of the town and the vast barren countryside along the way.
Once at Cape Agulhas, which is the most southern tip of Africa, the obligatory photos were taken and a climb to the top of the lighthouse was made. Not an easy feat considering the acute angle of the stairs and the sheer number of them!
We then made our way to the harbour in Struisbaai and hoped that today would be our lucky day and we would get a glimpse of at least one of the stingrays that inhabit the area.
As we were parking the car a stingray was spotted at the water’s edge. Fantastic, they were ready and waiting for us! These are not small stingrays! They are known as giant stingrays. There are many in the area, some reaching over 2m in size.
We hoped our sighting in the harbour was not all that we were going to get so we entered into the water to begin the chumming process hoping to entice the stingray back for a closer encounter. After 20 minutes of waiting in the chilly ocean it finally it showed up and brought a friend along!
We stayed in the water and played with them for a good hour and a half as one kept coming in close and bumping into us.
It was a truly great experience and amazing to see these graceful creatures up close and personal.
Have a look at the photos, or better still come and volunteer with us and see them in person!

Exciting Month of December

White Shark Projects — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:26:42 +0000

The December rush is beginning to slow down now and I think the staff and crew are very glad since it has been an exhausting but very rewarding season. Much to our delight the sharks have also played along with the December tourists and we have had great sightings of the sharks.
December is usually one of our slower times of years for the sharks as the water temperature can drop and get quite cold. This year however we were lucky with the water and it’s been a ‘hot’ 16-18 degrees most days. Some clients however used to much warmer waters still feel the chill as they enter the Atlantic Ocean. Our 7 mm wetsuits and the sight of a great white shark soon wipe the chill from their mind and instead of feeling cold they watch in amazement as a beautiful great white shark swims past them sometimes literally centimetres from the cage.
We’ve had a wide range of tourists this year, from our local South Africans to our far flung tourists who came to spend the festive season in the sun. All of them have experienced the great white shark at its best and lived to tell the tale!!! Young and old alike have been on the boat and sometimes those adamant on land they are not going into the cage return to land with wet hair, a huge smile on their face and the tale that they too were brave enough to enter into the cage. Sometimes it’s hard to resist getting into the water when you encounter these animals. They really do take your breath away, extremely graceful and beautiful a very majestic animal, one to be admired and adored.
We spent December as usual working in Jouberts Dam our inshore area. We find that during the summer months the sharks that are entering into the area tend to move close to the shoreline. There are a variety of reasons why this could be, one is the seals are having their breeding season, so the sharks move inshore and feed off the smaller bottom dwelling sharks, skates and rays. Quite a few white sharks are spotted by the breakers along the shoreline and some people believe they could be resting there using the waves, which are more oxygenated to wash over their bodies allowing them to remain still and maybe even turn part of their brain off to rest. White sharks lack certain muscles in their gills so they have to keep moving in order to breathe.
The sharks we have seen have been our typical juvenile sharks that enter into the area ranging from 2 to 3 metres in length though on some days during December the crew and clients told us of 4 meter animals that came around by the boat! Now that’s a sight! We have also typically encountered more females than males during December which is generally the pattern. Usually during the winter months we encounter more males than females, when we work around by the island.
We’ve had a lot of clients this December and thanks to the sharks and our wonderful staff and crew we have successfully ran 3 trips most days allowing as many people as possible to fulfil their dream of getting up close and personal with a beautiful great white shark.
Let’s hope the new year continues to be as fruitful, client and shark wise. Looking forward to seeing more of you guys here!!!

What a month November has been..

White Shark Projects — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:08:37 +0000

What a month November has been. Not only was it unusual due to the fact there were many men were trying to their very best to impersonate Mario and Luigi to support the cause of Movember but the weather, we as Cape Townians have become accustom to during this time, well just did not arrive.
Winter was definitely digging its nails in and holding on with all it had. The air temperatures remained cool in the beginning of the month and there was a constant flow of weak cold fronts moving past the peninsula. These fronts generally brought with them some light rains and strong winds. A frontal system that passed on the 12-14th had a bit more bite, bringing with it heavy rains in parts and covering some mountains in the region in SNOW. Something extremely rare for November.
The remainder of the month saw another front pass on the 20th with some more miserable weather, but after this there have been some warmer days and the SE winds are back with vengeance
The sharks seem to have been all too aware of the weather. While the Westerly winds have been keeping the water temps in the relatively warm region of 16°C for most of the month. The late on set of the SE wind has seen a drop in Sea Surface Temperatures as low as 11.9°C for a couple days and this seems to coincide with the least activity from the sharks a day or two after.
That is to say we are still seeing a good number of sharks per trip, averaging 6 sharks per trip with the highest amount seen on a day being 22 and the lowest 3. The highest amount of sharks had water temperature of 16°C and the lowest amount of sharks had a drastic drop in temperature (15.8°C to 11.9°C) to the previous day (14 sharks seen) and the following day in temperatures of 13°C only 3 sharks were seen.
In total 203 sharks were spotted over 36 trips. A good number never the less and sure to keep the influx of tourist over this time happy and give them the experience they are after.

White shark Projects

White Shark Projects — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:39:55 +0000

A Little Inspiration….

White Shark Projects — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:17:35 +0000

Written by: K. Miles

When I came to ‘The Great White Project’ I was looking for inspiration. I spent most of my life striving to be a doctor, and once I got to medical school I realized it may not be for me. After thinking long and hard, I resorted to my bucket list, hopped on a plane and found myself in Gansbaai, South Africa in a cage next to one of the most majestic animals in the world. Perhaps I would find inspiration in the dark eyes of ‘Jaws’ or maybe it would scare me back into medical school. One thing is certain, since that first day I jumped in the water as a tourist to this point – a couple weeks after having volunteered on the boat – I have learned a lot.

Being from the middle of Canada, nowhere near an ocean – in fact the closest I have come to a great white shark is either the movie Jaws or its given amusement ride at Universal Studios – my perceptions of sharks have drastically changed. I, like many others who had seen the movie, believed great white sharks were these man-eating sharks that, once on the boat or in the cage would provide a thrill scarier than any movie or horror house you could pay to see. This is not the reality. Every shark has its own personality. Although some are more curious than others, and will come close to the cage, great white sharks are beautiful, smooth swimming creatures that are very intriguing, and the experience was not the horrific thrill I was anticipating.

Similar to the direction I am heading with my life, a lot is unknown about the great white shark. In fact it is believed that more is known about the moon than these sharks. For example, when and where the female gives birth and exactly how many of these species remain in the oceans. For this reason the great white is listed as a vulnerable species, and it is unfortunate that in the western world the only interpretation we have of this animal is of this dangerous killing machine ‘Jaws’. Researchers, scientists and other shark enthusiasts working with the great white find themselves looking to cage diving as a means of educating tourists to change their perception of these animals. However, similar to the struggle with global warming and other environmental causes the fight to help save a vulnerable species is not solved overnight. This is what I have come to learn I will take away from this experience.

Perhaps I have found inspiration here. Maybe I will go onto help educate people about sharks or study marine biology. Or maybe I won’t. Either way I have learned that life, mine or the future for the great white’s, cannot be solved overnight. Trying to figure out how to get to a solution or figuring out what I am going to do is the best part. I learned a lot on this trip as a volunteer in a unique environment. I grew as a person. I got the opportunity to meet new people and live in South Africa for a couple of weeks. I experienced life… and if that is not inspiration to continue on and do something great from this point I am not sure what Is!

Recap on Frank Heinen’s experience with White Shark Projects

White Shark Projects — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:28:28 +0000

While writing this I am back home in The Netherlands again. Although I wonder if the word home is still really appropriate. The classic line between the place you call home and your temporary place of residence in a foreign country seems to have blurred after my second stay in Kleinbaai because this charming seaside village really started to feel like a second home very soon after my arrival.
It was amazing to see the ever gracious and impressive great whites again, especially since we got to know a couple of individuals quite well this time around. Who could forget Patch, the amazing jumping shark with the big, red flesh wound just behind her eye. Or Frank and Skidmark, two very inquisitive sharks that we saw during several trips. And last but not least Nemo, the remarkable wartime veteran that keeps growing and thriving despite her bent dorsal fin and badly mauled pectoral. What a survivor and a perfect example of the resilience that is so typical for the great white shark as a species! The thought that this animal might go extinct one day due to the ignorance, greed and stupidity of certain portions of the human race fills me with dread. But the same realization also fuels my fighting spirit and gives me the notion that I can make a difference by spreading the truth about the true nature and ecological value of these wonderful animals.
Apart from the white sharks, I fully enjoyed many of the other natural wonders the Western Cape has on offer. The awe-inspiring southern right whales, the graceful blue and mako sharks, the playful seals, the amazing dolphins, the colorful reptiles, the Cape Floristic Kingdom and the rich birdlife, all of these miracles of Mother Nature make you realize that everything is interconnected and that every creature plays its role in the grand scheme of things.
A big thank you goes out to my fellow volunteers and all the people working at White Shark Projects who also made this stay very enjoyable. Julia for her almost motherly care, Moose (probably the hardest working man on the planet), Mandla (the shark-spotting eagle), Maoli and Bee (thanks for a great last evening in Cape Town), Gerald (‘go down faster, the shark is already in Australia by now’), Grant (always cool and collected), Andy (thanks for one of the best sunsets I have ever witnessed), Charmaine (who gave me the opportunity to share some of my thoughts and experiences with all of you), Rene, Liz (a great arranger), Frank (whose knowledge about the oceans and many of their inhabitants provided me with some interesting new insights), Angel (for keeping the house clean and spotless) and the rest of the staff for all their hard work.

Written by: Frank Heinen

Shark activity in October.

White Shark Projects — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 07:02:14 +0000

The month of October has been a relatively active month, even with a significant amount of land based time due to the rough weather and seas this part of the coastline can experience. Winter seems to be putting on one last show before the joys of summer.
Since the 1st of October a total of 23 trip have been completed with over 173 sharks being observed over the period from 1st to the 25th of October 2011. While this is a relative large number, please note that this reflects on observed sharks and not on the total new ones. Comparing this to previous years data (2009, 2008) the number of observed sharks it is the lowest recorded of the three.
On average there were 7 sharks seen per trip with the most active trip having a total of 12 sharks and the lowest activity being only 4 sharks. Thankfully there were no miss trips, but there were some very slow trips with us anxiously waiting for a long time for some sharks to show up. When they did, they seemed to make up for lost time and were able to put on a good show for the clients.
The area where we were working the most, was the Joubert’s Dam region. The Geldsteen was only used twice in the month. As to be expected in this area there was a high percentage of females observed. In total 121 Females, 19 Males, 32 Unknowns were seen. Due to the high number of females the average size of the sharks was also higher than the population total from our observed data. Females averaged 2.78m while males averaged 2.67m. This is further highlighted by the range of sizes between males and females. The distribution of sizes for males was between 2.4 to 3m while the females had a much broader range. They ranged from 1.5m to 4m, with a high percentage in the upper 3m region. The smallest individual was seen on 20th October, It only measured 1.4m, it is safe to assume that this is a very young individual, and having been born less than a year ago and potentially less than 6 months ago. It was amazing to see how curious this individual was. Potentially experiencing things for the first time.

Fin ID and interesting shark.
This 2.8m Female was first seen midway through the month of May (12/05/2011). While not a shark that was transient in nature, only spending between 1 to 4 weeks in the original sighted area before disappearing again. This shark made sporadic and haphazard appearances over the next 4 months. The shark has been seen both at Dyer Island and Jouberts Dam. The movement has been from Jouberts Dam then to Dyer Island and then back again. It is unclear why the changes in location but one could assume food availability was a major factor. The large chunk out of the dorsal made it really impossible to miss and one of the easy ones to mark as a resight. When it was first spotted, the bite mark seemed fresh as the leading edge of the bite was raw and red. Some healing has occurred during this time and it seems less red on the edge in the later photos.

Please feel free to post comments below. We would love to hear your thoughts.