SANParks.org Forums

Gordon's Bay - Nature conservationists have arrested two men and at the same time saved 26 baby sharks by doing an unusual 'Caesarean' after they cracked down on a skiboat in the harbour here.

The baby sharks were released in a tidal pool soon afterwards.

Officers of the marine and coastal management directorate (MCB) and members of South African National Parks (Sanparks) confiscated the skiboat early on Monday morning during a routine investigation.

Marine and conservation chief inspector Justin Enslin said officers headed off the boat at the harbour and spotted the sharks.

"The men had a permit to catch line fish, but the large cargo (about a ton) made the inspectors suspicious.

"It was unlikely they could have caught so much without nets. The fish also had marks showing clearly where the nets had cut into them."

Enslin said the shark trade was extremely profitable because fishermen could get about R15/kg for their catch.

"It's illegal to catch sharks in nets and the offence is regarded as serious.

"We went with the two men and their boat to the processing factory where they were to have unloaded their cargo.

"One of the men got nervous and ran away. The other confessed the nets were hidden under the dead sharks."

Carl Nortier of Sanparks said some of the female sharks were pregnant.

"Many of the babies were dead, but we cut open two of the sharks and removed 26 babies which we released in a tidal pool.

"At first, they just lay there, opening and closing their gills, but after a while one after the other they began swimming around. Then we took them out and released them into the open seas.

"It was so satisfying to have saved at least these few," said Nortier.

Enslin said the officers confiscated the five-metre boat, two nets of about 400m and a Toyota Hilux bakkie.

He said the second suspect later agreed on the phone to hand himself in with his lawyer present.

He said the two men would appear in the magistrate's court in the Strand soon on a charge of contravening the Marine Resources Act.

The case probably will be transferred to the special marine court at Hermanus.

The suspects could face a prison sentence if they were found guilty, said Enslin.

Gordon's Bay is 9km from my house. They do not say into which tidal pool they released the sharks!! Will have to be very careful. Well not really, I do not swim in the sea much as I think the water down here is freezing, my wife will disagree though

He he, youve given away your location, is Strand the one? Somerset West?

Aren't bull sharks and zambezis the same sort of shark. I always heard that zambezis is a term only found in south africa.

and as everyone has said, we are the tresspassers in the oceans afterall.

This device was fixed to the female shark's trademark dorsal fin. Thankfully no scientists - and no sharks - suffered during the tagging.

On the Dutch news this morning
Nicole, a great white, was fiitted with a radiotransmitter and she swam 20.000 kilos. From Sa to Aus and back. Took her 9 months. Prob to mate. First recording ever of such a journey by a shark

<...>... and now we wait for Jose to post some pics

The reef sharks in the Maldives are really friendly whilst the same species in the Pacific have been known to attack humans.

Here's some friendly ones.

I once read somewhere that you should NEVER swim in any river in Africa. Guess there's more to it than crocs and hippos!