This press release, published by SABC News, is riddled with eccentricity: not much mention of what actual conservation is happening, and team leader Kock working in Kalk Bay. The Fear Beneath has published it anyway in case it might interest our readers.
South Africa is the first country to give protection to one of the ocean’s ferocious predators, the great white shark. The country is also leading a conservation research to ensure its survival.
The Save our Seas Shark Center in Kalk Bay is conducting in-depth research into this mysterious, threatened creature. Alison Kock, the project’s team leader says: “In some parts of the world, great white shark populations have decreased by up to 80%. South Africa is in such a valuable position to conserve the great white shark populations.”
The great white is more accessible in South Africa than anywhere else on earth, and can be studied year-round. Seventy-eight sharks have already been tagged, and are closely monitored.
The research will provide important clues on how best to protect them. Researchers also hope to shatter the vicious myths surrounding them, and get the public involved in saving these invaluable oceanic giants.