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)