Shark!

After gaining her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Welfare and Management, Bethan Young decided to chase her dream of working with great white sharks.

Having soon leant that it is virtually impossible to be paid to do this type of work, I went to South Africa as a volunteer at the Collaborative Great White Shark Research Project. I was based in Gansbaai, a small fishing village two hours from Cape Town, where I shared a small house with the person in charge of the project and two other volunteers.

On my first day we got up at 7am and made our way down to the small fishing harbour of Kleainbaai, where most of the boats are launched from. There are seven boats in total which go out most days, unless the weather is too bad. As the best time to see the sharks is in the winter months this does happen occasionally.

At the harbour we were introduced to the boat and crew who were to take us out for the day. As it was our first time we all went out together to learn what information we would need to collect each day. Ordinarily we would each go out on a different boat: would phone the boat crew the night before and ask if they could take us the next day. As we were not paying we were reliant on their good will and whether or not they had the room on the boats, as paying customers would take precedence. We were lucky most days and nearly always got places on boats.

When we were all on the boat it was time to set off. We headed for Dyer Island and Shark Alley, a world famous area for Great White Sharks. The trip out took about twenty minutes and once we were there the anchor was dropped and it was time to wait.

Once the boat was settled on of the crew members began ‘chumming’. Basically this means ladling a mixture of fish, oil and blood over the side of the boat to attract the sharks. Once the shark is around the boat bait is used – usually tuna –to keep it interested.

The crew explained that it could take anything from five minutes to five hours for a shark to appear. We were lucky and within ten minutes our first shark had arrived. It was amazing to see: it was cautious and timid and nothing like the image portrayed of a mindless killing machine. It circled the boat and occasionally lifted its head clear of the water and looked at us; it seemed to be very interested in what these strange creatures were and what was happening. Once it seemed to have settled down a cage was lowered into the water and people went down in groups of four. Depending on the shark you can either use scuba gear or a snorkel. Some sharks are very nervous and get scared of the sound that the air makes in scuba equipment, so it is up to the boat crew to decide which is best.

That first day we saw fifteen different sharks ranging in size from two to four metres in length. Each one seemed to have its own personality. Some were cautious, nervous and timid while others were aggressive and decisive. Our job was to note down the size and sex of each one and draw individual markings on them so that we could identify the different sharks. We also had to note down their behaviour at regular intervals, usually every minute. This was more difficult when there was more than one shark around the boat at one time, but with practice became second nature.

At the end of each day we recorded our findings onto a computer system. This helped us keep track of the different sharks and their behaviour, and whether we were seeing new sharks or the same ones. In the three months that I worked there I was the same sharks a few times but the majority were new. Each day was different. We never knew how many sharks we would see, if any.

One of the most memorable experiences was when, after a full day’s shark watching, we were amazed to see some Southern Right Whales swimming towards us. They swam right next to the boat and just stayed there for about an hour, singing. It was magical. It was so clear and moving and just made a perfect day.

Other highlights included going down in the cage, meeting Andre Hartman (world famous shark expert) and being on the only boat at sea in the middle of lightning storm in shark-infested water.

This was an amazing experience and I am so glad I had the chance to do it.

Bethan Young