The South African government recently published its draft Great White Shark Cage Diving Policy and Regulations (PDF), which outlines how non-consumptive shark use (i.e., cage viewing) will be handled in the coming years. For example, the policy indicates that no more than 14 permitted vessels may engage in cage viewing in a given year. Essentially, the policy is meant to limit intrusion into the world of great whites, in order to protect them. Great idea.
In comment to the draft, Gregg Oelofse of Cape Town's environmental resource management department, claims that many of its citizens believe that the nine sharks attacks (like the one on Henri Murray) in the last 6 years are the result of "conditioning" -- specifically, the baiting and chumming methods used in the cage diving industry. To that end, Oelofse wants the expansion of the Great White shark cage diving industry stopped until scientific evidence demonstrates irrefutably that chumming does not increase the risk of shark attacks or harm the shark ecology. Oelofse acknowledges that some studies have suggested that cage diving does not condition sharks, but he claims there is a need for ongoing research.
While protecting these animals is critical, I believe that exposing people to sharks is just as important. And, naturally, the best way to expose people to them is to go diving with them. I went cage diving in South Africa in 2001, and while the boat operator did not throw food into the water, he did drag tuna steaks through the waves to attract sharks: he did not allow the sharks to eat the food. While I'm confident that sharks, as smart as they are, are capable of learning that the hope of food exists in location X at time Y, I do not believe they are forgetting their own hunting skills, relying on humans for feeding, or beginning to associate humans with meals. (If anything, they might be associating motors with meals.) That said, when I went on land-based safaris in Africa, I never considered throwing a hunk of meat on the ground to attract lions to the vehicle. So why would I condone dragging fish through the water to attract sharks?
It's a tough question. What do you think?
