28th October - 1st Nov, 1999

Great White Shark - Carcharidon Carcharius
Photo by Jackie Smit

Shark Cage Diving is more than a little controversial, both within the diving industry and through out the local communities around which it takes place.     More than once we've sat and listened to surfers / locals berate cage operators, blaming them for the increase in shark attacks.    It is considered by many as irresponsible and gung-ho, they believe it teaches sharks to associate humans with food.    From TV documentaries many people expect that the moment a diver is in a cage the white shark is drawn to it and given the chance would devour the ill advised thrill seeker leaving behind nothing but a severed limb.     Add to that the unsavoury reputation of the operators as cowboys out to fleece the tourist and you're left with a nagging feeling that you don't want to take part in such 'sport'.    However, out of curiosity and a desire to dive with this awesome predator, we spent a deal of time asking other divers who'd done it and operators whose opinions we trusted which shark cage operator they would recommend.

Is there such a thing as an 'eco-friendly' operator?

With the cage diving industry booming in SA, there are quite a number of operators, some better than others (one actually advertises putting a 5 year old in a cage!).  

Aboard 'Master of Happiness'
Yes, that's the shark diving cage!

We eventually chose South Coast Seafaris, an efficient operation run by Jackie and Rosemary Smit.    The company is a member of WHISPRA (White Shark Preservation Association), and supports marine research at Stellenbosch University; cynics may note that in an industry with such an unsavoury public image it is hardly surprising that operations advertise an ecological and conservationist image.   It was really refreshing therefore to have most of our preconceptions overturned. Our expectations had been fairly negative to say the least. We had heard much about profiteering operations posing as research vessels. Using the conservationist/scientific marketing label to attract the eco-tourists and thereby receiving a substantial income from volunteers for shark tagging expeditions. White Shark tagging is also under debate as to whether the plastic tags are actually traceable for research purposes. Sometimes the tags will disappear under growths on the skin, or just fall off. True researchers are presently testing alternative ways of tracking the sharks. Do Sharks Attack DiversIn the 33 years that Jackie Smit has been swimming and diving with White Sharks outside a cage, both he and his son have been attacked in separate incidents while spearfishing on snorkel. Undeterred (they knew the shark had only been attracted by the dead fish on their belts), they were both straight back in the water as soon as they were able.  Not one incident has occured whilst on scuba. This is true for most of the shark divers we have spoken to. In fact the divers bubbles seem to frighten the shark, hence the recommendation that divers use snorkels for shark viewing from the cage. There is in fact only a 30% chance of seeing a Great White from inside the cage as opposed to a 70% chance from the boat.

Black Backed Gull - Dyer Island

Then there is the question of chumming affecting White Shark's natural behaviour. The Cage operators of course say 'no', while the surfers and conservationists continually campaign to stop the chumming for tourism. Both arguments seem to have solid foundations so the question remains unanswered. Good news is that the days of chumming and feeding the shark with meat and sealmeat are hopefully past.    In fact what was used was a chum consisting of ground fish and oil.    This was continuously piped into the water to be scattered by the current to the bottom dwelling white sharks which could be as far as 2 km away.   When the shark was eventually enticed to the boat, we were surprised to see that it wasn't fed.    Instead a net bag full of pilchards was used to tease the shark closer to the boat so that the excited onlookers could snap away to their hearts' content.

Dyer Island Seals
Natural Chumming Machines

Shark in non-agressive play mode

Season for Sharks