Nyami Nyami continues to be in the spotlight

Nyami Nyami has once again made the front page - this time in Fish Magazine, a popular angling and conservation magazine developed by the team at Big Fish Safari.

An article by Hennie Papenfuss (recall the amazing professional angler originally who caught Nyami Nyami) in Volume 8 of the magazine - to which SASC contributes a regular conservation column - describes the entire fishing expedition and subsequent scientific research on the world's largest Zambezi shark.

Check out Volume 8 for Hennie's exciting story. Fish Magazine can be found in fishing stores and Exclusive Books shops country-wide. You can also visit their website (http://www.fishmag.co.za/) for more information

SASC returns to Breede River to deploy PAT tag on Zambezi shark

With the assitance of the Save Our Seas Foundation, SASC will be returning to the Breede River from March 30 - April 3 2009 to deploy a pop-up archival satellite tag (PAT tag) on one of the Zambezi sharks in the river.

This will allow us to track the shark's movement for up to 3 months to determine whether these sharks move out of the estuary in the colder winter months.

Joining us on this expedition will be a film crew from the Save Our Seas Foundation, scientists from Marine and Coastal Management and conservation officers from the Lower Breede River Conservancy.

This will be the first time a PAT tag has been deployed on a Zambezi shark in South Africa and we are really excited to have this opportunity! The data collected during the 3 month deployment period will contribute valuable insight into the long-term conservation and management of Zambezi sharks in South Africa.

SASC Zambezi shark expedition a resounding success!

From January 19th-25th, 2009, SASC led our second expedition to the Breede River to determine whether reports of Zambezi (bull) sharks could be confirmed. Joining us was a team from Marine and Coastal Management, conservation officers from the Lower Breede River Conservancy, a marine biologist from Marine Dynamics, and professional anglers from Big Fish Safari.

During the first 3 days we spent up to 16 hours a day fishing for Zambezi sharks - hoping one would take our live bait. On the fourth day we were rewarded for our patience when a Zambi took the bait of professional angler Hennie Papenfuss, about 5.5km upstream. Hennie gently handled the shark, letting her tow him a further 2.5km, tiring her out before we brought her close to shore and landed her on a mud bank.

One can only imagine how excited we were to finally see such a magnificent animal in the river, but our excitement did not prevent us from gathering all the necessary scientific data and attaching two acoustic tags to track her movements during the following days.

We made three very exciting and rewarding discoveries during this time:

1. this Zambezi shark - who we have named Nyami Nyami (the Zambezi River god) is the largest of its kind known to science, measuring 4 metres total length. The previous known maximum length for this species was 3.4-3.5 metres;
2. the discovery of Nyami Nyami represents a significant range extension for Zambezi sharks in South Africa, as they were only known to occur to Cape St. Francis in the Eastern Cape;
3. Nyami Nyami appeared heavily pregnant, suggesting the Breede River may serve as an important nursery ground for these sharks.

We proceeded to track Nyami Nyami for 43 consecutive hours which, as far as we know, is the longest time this species has been tracked. She moved up and down the estuary, following fishing boats and looking for an easy source of food, swimming as far as 15km upriver.

Provided sufficient funds can be secured, we will return to the Breede River within the next few weeks to continue our tracking and begin unravelling some of the mysteries of this beautiful and elusive shark species.

We extend a sincere thanks to the following companies for helping make this expedition a reality:

• Dyer Island Conservation Trust
• White Shark Projects
• Big Fish Safari
• Van Blommestein Slaghuis
• Fruit and Veg City (Gateway, Hermanus)