Over the past few weeks I have been confronted with a number of questions concerning the fishing of white sharks in South Africa, and particularly ‘Catch and Release’ of sharks by sport anglers. In having tried to answer all questions, I have not always given the depth of answer required, and this has led to accusations of evasiveness. Here is where I stand on this issue in terms of the laws protecting white sharks and the behaviour of sport anglers who hook white sharks.
The first issue is ‘intent’. Are specific sport anglers intending to capture white sharks and thus deemed to be targeting them? Alternatively, are all sport anglers innocent bystanders responding to overly confident (or abundant) white sharks dominating the marine ecosystem. I believe that a small number of sports anglers have intentionally been targeting white sharks in areas where white sharks aggregate, such as Mossel Bay. These fishers were repeatedly catching white sharks, posting pictures on Facebook, having pictures displayed in fishing shops, discussing techniques to capture white sharks via mails and postings, and also readily admitting to targeting white sharks during conversations with members of the public. This behaviour is illegal and the majority of the sport fishing community has distanced itself from such people.
There are sport fishers who genuinely hook white sharks by mistake and do not want to feel like they are breaking the law due to such accidental hook ups. To legally distinguish between fishers who target white sharks and those who accidently hook white sharks on the odd occasion is very difficult. It is my belief that intent is clear when tackle and techniques (slide fishing, kite casting etc.) that are designed to capture very large sharks are utilised, and (b) that this tackle is deployed in areas known for aggregations of white sharks.
In South Africa substantial research has been carried out on the spatial distribution of white sharks and the aggregation sites that they use most often are well established and include areas such as Diaz Beach opposite Seal Island. This particular area is in the middle of the white shark aggregation area in Mossel Bay and if you fish there with appropriate tackle / techniques it is inevitable that you will hook up white sharks.
Whilst it may be difficult to prove in court I propose that the community should respond and report anglers who use large shark fishing tackle and deploy these in the known great white aggregation sites. The authorities can then inform the angler of the likelihood of catching a white shark and hopefully encourage them to fish in an alternative spot or use different tackle. I do not accept that sports fishers placing massive baits into water behind Mossel Bay break line are unaware that they will in all probability hook up white sharks. Thus the best way to avoid breaking the law is for the fisher-people to adjust their behaviour in such as way as to minimise the probability of accidental hook ups.
Secondly, is the issue of ‘what to do if you hook up a white shark’ .The law states that you are not allow to possess, harass, catch, target, kill, or attempt to kill white sharks in South Africa. However, a number of sport fishermen claim that in the case of accidental hook ups it is more responsible to land the shark remove the hook and release it, as opposed to letting it swim around with 100’s of metres of line attached to it. It is also claimed, that there is also no harm in taking a photograph for a few seconds prior to release. I postulate that arguments such as this cannot be accepted by our courts as they offer a loophole and encourage rogue fisher-people to land white sharks for sport angling or poaching as they know they will “get away with it”. Unfortunately this appears to be one of the defences that people targeting white sharks are using and it seems that this is often enough to deter the authorities and the state from prosecuting.
What is the solution? – this is a good question. It is possible that positive identification of a white shark could not be made during the ensuing fight following a hook up. I also believe that as soon as a shark is in the shallows or on the waters edge it would be impossible to argue that it could not be identified as a white shark. As such, if a line was to be drawn it would be when identification is impossible not to determine, and that is at the waters edge or shallows. As this stage, a fisher has a choice to make. Do I pull the white shark further onto the beach, get the hooks out, spend a few minutes taking photos, measure it, or do I set it free immediately. I believe, at this stage, that any effort by the fisher to manipulate the shark in any manner other than immediately releasing it constitutes a crime in terms of the law. The shark should be cut free as close as possible to the hook, or if the hook can be safely accessed and removed (especially if you are using barbless circle hooks) then this should be done, and the shark immediately assisted back into deeper water. If, however, you make any effort to pull the shark further out of the water, use a gaff to land the shark, take photos of yourself posing with the shark whilst you still have pocession of it, then you are committing a crime.
In the case of Leon Bekker, the photos captured show that (a) he hooked and landed the shark using a gaff under the jaws, (b) once on the rocks, where it was clearly identifiable as a white shark, he spent upwards of 5 minutes pulling the shark higher onto the rocks, (c) he rested on the shark with his own weight, his partner pulled the shark by its gills, and the gaff in the chin was used to leverage the shark higher onto the rocks, (d) he then spent a number of minutes posing with the shark whilst photographs were taken, and (e) overall he had the shark out of the water for upwards of 15 minutes without ventilation and made no effort to release it. The shark was only released when I arrived on the scene and instigated its release. As such, I believe that in terms of the following regulation:
“No person shall, except on the authority of a permit— (a) engage in fishing, collecting, killing, attempting to kill, disturbing, harassing or attracting using bait or any other means, keeping or controlling of, or be in possession of, any great white shark: Provided that if caught or killed unintentionally, such shark shall be kept in the whole state, and shall be handed to a fishery control officer as soon as possible;
that Mr Bekkers behaviour illustrates that he willingly and knowingly – collected a white shark, attempted to kill a white shark, harassed a white shark, disturbed a white shark, controlled a white shark, and was in possession of a white shark. He made a conscious decision to behave in the way he did following incontrovertible evidence that it was a white shark that he had hooked. In fact, Mr. Bekker admitted to me that he was aware what he was doing was illegal and that it is “what I do”. It was clear that he had every intention to target white sharks on that day. Furthermore, following our visit to fishing shops where I witnessed at least 10 photographs of Mr. Bekker posing with other white sharks confirmed to me that this was a repeated behaviour, and that Mr. Bekker understood the nature of his actions.
I am neither a lawyer nor a representative of the government. I am a scientist who researches and works for the conservation of sharks. I am not against the sport fishing community, and believe that a vast majority of the community are environmentally conscious. If angling is done in conjunction with research, it can produce valuable information and will aid in understanding and conserving sharks in South Africa.
In closing I have two points to make. Firstly, there are laws in place concerning protected species, I encourage anglers to respect these laws as they are made to ensure the integrity of our marine ecosystem by taking into account all threats, pressures and the vulnerability of a species. Secondly, expand the concept of ‘catch and release’ to ‘catch, release and live’. You have the life of a wonderful animal in your hands; how you treat this animal determines its future survival and your humanity.
by Ryan Johnson on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 2:25pm
