Shark Angels: Shark Finning video

The Shark Angels - 3 dedicated & passionate women concerned about the conservation status of sharks - have launched a fantastic new online video about the loss of sharks from marine ecosystems and the repercussions for humankind.

See what these women have to say by viewing the video and by visiting their website.

Well done to our friends Julie, Alison and Kim for their never-ending efforts to promote education, awareness and scientific study of these magnificent animals.

The importance of responsible fishing practices

Many of us are aware of the implications of poor management when it comes to commercial and recreational fisheries. Declines in top predators, niche replacement and the collapse of fish stocks are just some of the "common" issues we see in the face of increasing pressure on marine resources through extraction and exploitation. But what many people don't see, or perhaps might not even consider, is the impact of other human actions on the marine realm, including pollution and irresponsible fishing practices.

People often argue that commercial fisheries cause the most damage to living marine resources - and the marine environment in general - but that is because it is often difficult to see or quantify the damages caused by our everyday activities. Activities that we can regulate; behaviours that we can change; actions that we, as individuals, can undertake to make a difference.

Take litter, for instance. Most land-based pollution ends up in the sea, floating around on the surface. Much of this litter (e.g., aluminum cans, strops from bait packets, cigarette butts) is shiny and very interesting to marine creatures like birds, turtles and sharks who, in general, are quite curious. Interactions between marine animals and human pollution often prove fatal as much of the litter is consumed by, or becomes entangled around, a particular animal. The pictures below illustrate just how damaging pollution can be to these animals.

Fishing gut tangled around the head of a seal.

A curious bird which ingested plastic and aluminum floating on the surface of the sea. The litter in the stomach makes the bird feel full, resulting in a slow death due to starvation.

Other issues include irresponsible angling practices, whereby anglers who catch and release their fish do so without cutting the line as closely to the hook as possible. Many fish become entangled in the remaining line, ultimately resulting in slow and painful deaths due, for example, to suffocation. Morne Hardenberg - avid scuba diver, photographer and shark conservationist - was diving with blue sharks off Cape Point this past weekend and bore witness to the consequences of such practices.

A small blue shark (1.5m total length) entangled in a line from fishing gear. The shark will inevitably face a slow death, likely due to suffocation and eventual decapitation as it continues to grow.

For the detailed story on Morne's dive with the blues and his feelings about seeing this shark, visit the Save Our Seas Foundation Blogspot.

In an attempt to address the issue of responsible fishing practices, SASC developed responsible angling guidelines for sharks to mitigate some of the damage done by recreational and/or commercial fishers. These guidelines were developed in association with Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) and many keen recreational anglers. You can read through these guidelines and see how you can contribute to better fishing practices by visiting our Anglers Corner.

Pop-up archival satellite tag expedition

SASC, funded by the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF), recently returned to the Breede River in an attempt to deploy a pop-up archival satellite tag (PAT tag) on a Zambezi shark. The purpose of this expedition was to deploy a PAT tag and determine where the Breede River Zambezi sharks go in the winter months. PAT tags can collect data such as water depth, temperature and light intensity over a programmed period of time & provide an excellent alternative to time-intensive manual tracking activities using acoustic tags and a hydrophone.

Assisted bya team of professional anglers from Extreme Africa and several commercial fishers, we were hopeful that our attempt to catch and tag another shark would be succesful. Alas, it was not so. After 4 long days of hard fishing - sometimes in near gale force winds - we were unable to catch a Zambi, even though we had several (very) close calls.

Wesley - one of the dedicated anglers - was extremely excited when his 60cm grunter was taken by a large shark who we think, based on additional tracking activities, was Nyami Nyami (see above photo). Alison Kock of the Save Our Seas Shark Centre was also thrilled when, on the third day, the balloon attached to her line with another live grunter began moving quickly across the surface of the river. Unfortunately the shark released the grunter before we were able to reel it in. Judging by the small bite wounds on the grunter, the second shark was a small one - probably 1.5m to 2m in length.

Although we were unable to capture a second shark and deploy our PAT tag, we did manage to find and track Nyami Nyami. We were so excited that she is still in the river - at a time when many Breede River locals had predicted the sharks would have departed the estuary for warmer climes - and that her acoustic tags are still transmitting!

SASC will undertake a return trip to the Breede River to complete this component of the project in the coming months. We are sure the data collected in future from the PAT tag will help unravel some of the mystery behind this species' behaviour in South Africa.

Special thanks to all those who helped out on this expedition, including: the Save Our Seas Foundation, Gavin and Linda Clarke, Lower Breede River Conservancy, Dr. Steve Lamberth & Corne Erasmus (Marine and Coastal Management), Alison Kock, Paul Wildman, Morne Hardenberg, Alison Towner, Eugene Beukes, Danny and the team from Extreme Africa.