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!

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

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.

A great afternoon trip today. A big female with a big red scar not far behind her eye (we call her patch) gave away a spectacular show. She kept going for the bait in spectacular fashion, even after taking it a couple of times, launching her impressive body out of the water several times. A tough day at the office for Maoli, our personal hero who lost the bait three times but managed to hold on to it on all the other occasions. Patch is not only a very spectacular, but also a very sneaky shark. She seems to know that if the visibility is poor she must go down deep and launch herself out of the water with short, but intensely powerful bursts of sheer power and speed. Today’s trip also showed that you do not always need loads of sharks to produce extremely memorable afternoons. Just two or three good sharks that stick around the boat for a while can easily do the job. Incredible how powerful the magic and lure of the great white still is, even after you have seen dozens of these animals during your lifetime. But every shark has its own unique personality and no two trips are the same. Just can’t get enough of these graceful pinnacles of marine evolution…

Whilst I am writing this, well over a week has past since my arrival in Kleinbaai. Although the weather has not been really consistent, we have had some good trips and stunning shark action near the boat. My second stay up to date in this wonderful seaside village started off with a real blast. Only about 25 minutes after my arrival, I was lucky enough to go out to sea straight away. Since the trip was a volunteer exclusive, I made full use of the opportunity to get in the cage. Despite the chilly water, I happily stayed in the cage for about ninety minutes. Needless to say, it was fantastic to see the truly magnificent sharks again, often only a couple of decimeters away. When we got out and started preparing to head back to Kleinbaai harbor, we had the privilege to see something very special. First of all, a whale passed, only 6-8 meters from the boat. But a couple of minutes later suddenly an approximately 2.5 meter long, grey and white shape broke the surface with a very impressive display of sheer power and launched itself five feet out of the water. It all happened within the space of less than two seconds, but soon all of us realized that we just witnessed a full breach only a couple of centimeters from the boat. An awesome experience! Throughout the rest of the first half of October the shark action has been pretty good, with an average of about five to eleven sharks per trip visiting the boat. Especially in the shallow waters of Joubert’s Dam the average size of the sighted sharks has been quite well, the biggest being a very impressive and inquisitive, but still somewhat calm four meter plus female. There are a lot of whales in the area too at the moment, while the seals on and around Geyser Rock are always pleasures to observe. So hopefully the sharks will keep on putting up some good shows for the clients, volunteers and crew members.

The Great white shark has the ability to heal from severe trauma in no time at all !
The summer months and the inshore season are slowly drawing to a close and the sharks should be moving back to the island for a winter full of exciting activity. They will now be pursuing their agile prey the cape fur seal, Arctocephalus pusillus.
This summer season in Jouberts Dam has provided me with the opportunity to identify many individual animals assigning names to most and getting familiar with their individual behavioural traits.
Two sharks, Kimbo and Gash really stick out in my mind. Unfortunately they were injured previously but by no means impeded in their activities around our vessel, Shark Team.
After observing the wounds these sharks had sustained I started to wonder how long it would take them to heal. I therefore monitored them closely over the next few months taking photos wherever possible.
Very little information exists on healing rates with great white sharks. We suspect they have the ability to heal rapidly, having highly efficient immune systems and showing low incidences of fatal diseases such as cancer.
These 2 sharks have both shown evidence of significant healing capabilities during their stay with us in Jouberts Dam.
There are many reasons for scarring on the sharks we observe. Some common reasons may be boat propellers, jagged objects, fishing lines, seal bites and fishermen’s knives amongst others.
The above are just some of the threats white sharks face on a daily basis but others may include poaching for their jaws, teeth and fins, by-catch from commercial fisheries, sports fishing, habitat degradation, pollution and prey source depletion.
After several months of observation I can now conclude that white sharks can recover rapidly from trauma, within a matter of weeks

Kimbo:
Size: 2.0 metre female,
Distinguishing features: Tick shaped pigmentation right hand side of dorsal.
Injury: +/- 20 cm long, +/-3 cm deep cut, left hand side of dorsal
surface between dorsal fin and eye.
First observed 28/11/08 during an afternoon trip and still remains with us at the present time, last seen 09/02/09.
28/11/08 PM:
18/12/08 AM:
In 3 weeks Kimbo had basically healed from the deep slice in her back. All that remains is black scar tissue showing that she has made a full recovery.

Gash:
Size: 2.5 metre female
Distinguishing features: Gaping wound on dorsal surface, anterior to the dorsal fin.
Injury: Gash +/- 30cm in diameter and +/- 10 cm deep on the
dorsal surface. The vertebrae were visible initially.
First observed 15/12/08 and regularly until 04/01/09. She disappeared until 11/02/09 when she was recently sighted, where did she go in-between? I wish I had the answers for you!
15/12/08 PM:
11/02/09 AM:
Her injuries although undoubtedly painful, never seemed to impede Gash’s movement or activity around the boat as she was quite a character, what we call a ‘player’. She was very active and more than capable of stealing bait from time to time.
Many of the smaller slices spreading out from the core of the wound have healed showing black scar tissue. The depth of the wound has decreased significantly (estimated at +/- 4 cm) and scar tissue is beginning to cover the whole gash. I hope Gash will stay around long enough to make a full recovery and allow me to track her progress. I will keep you updated on her progress.
I was absolutely astonished at the rate at which Gash had recovered from what would be fatal to humans. These animals really are majestic and never cease to amaze me, the more I learn about them the more I want to learn!

Adrian Hewitt
Marine Biologist
White Shark Projects

fantastic times with the september vols = alghulas ( southern most piont of sa )

Volunteer for White Shark Projects and become integral to the conservation of the greatest and yet most misunderstood, predatory force of the seas – the Great White Shark

Sharks are intelligent and vulnerable, and deserving of sympathy and respect. A complex and precious species, they are doing their best to survive.

Since 1989 White Shark Projects, through research and education programmes, has been committed to dispelling the “Jaws” myth that gives these creatures such a bad reputation.

White Shark Projects is a world-leading organization that champions the cause of the Great White Shark. Initially founded as a research institute, White Shark Projects has expanded its services to include an excellent film department;
a diving and viewing centre; and a separate conservation and education department.

“Everything we do we aim to do in harmony with nature and the environment in which we are working.”