Great white sharks have migrated from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape coast, with high numbers reported in Chintsa Bay, researchers have found. Fifteen great whites were found in Chintsa Bay between January 17 and 19 by a five-member team of Western Cape scientists, filmmakers and divers. Nine were tagged in their dorsal fins.
Fourteen were young or sub-adults of more than 2m long, which could live for 70 to 80 years and grow to more than 5m-long. News of the latest taggings evoked keen interest from close to 200 anglers, paddlers, divers, swimmers, skippers and crews who crammed into the Kwelera Ski Boat clubhouse last week for the research presentation and discussion. The scientists said the tags — apricot-sized computers costing R80,000 each — were programmed to work free from the fins and float to the surface after 180 days, which will be in July.
There they should link with a satellite and download their data, called “gold” by one researcher. They and the public would have had their first local hard truths about this significant migration and eco-shift. Their findings are likely to spark international interest amid a global fascination with the behaviour of the famous top-tier marine predator.
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The team appealed to the public to report any shark sightings or encounters to toby@sharkspotters.org.za For a number of years, local ocean users along the East Coast have reported seeing more and more great white sharks, especially in Chintsa Bay. On April 12 2021, at about 11am, Chintsa bodyboarder Robert Frauenstein, 38, disappeared. He is believed to have been taken by a great white due to shark bite marks on his board, which was found the next day. The deep, clear punctures were identified as belonging to a great white by Kevin Cole, principal natural scientist at the East London Museum.
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