27 July 2010

The reason why Gansbaai is the Big 2 Town or also known as the Capital of the Great White Shark is because no shark nets are used here so the Great White and the Southern Right Whales together with other sea creatures are safe to swim in these waters.

South Africa is one of three countries in the world that use shark nets, the other two countries are New South Wales in Australia and Hong Kong. The authorities claim it is to protect beach goers, but the nets don’t discriminate and cause huge ecological damage. Apart from approximately 1000 sharks caught every year, a large number of harmless shark species as well as Whales, dolphins, stingrays and sea turtles are caught and die in these nets.

21 July 2010

The owners of the Great White Adventure Centre and of The Roundhouse love what they do and that is to organize either a scuba dive holiday in Mozambique or just a day out Shark cage diving in Gansbaai. They work according to the clients wants and needs and the client will have a tailor made holiday package.

They are also passionate about the sharks in our oceans and were excited when they read on the WWF website about a Mr. Herrmann who invented a gadget to safe the sharks. He used a shark's ability to detect magnetic fields as a way to protect them from accidentally being caught on fishing lines. He found that placing strong magnets just above the baited hooks on long-line fishing nets seemed to repel certain shark species away from the lines.

It has become vital to protect the Great White who is but one of 350 different types of shark species and finding ways to do that is an ongoing battle.

19 July 2010

The sun is shining and the sea is calm and serene. The biting cold of these past weeks is on hold for the moment and with a temperature of 22 degrees Celsius for today everybody in Gansbaai is smiling. I was standing on the top deck of The Roundhouse and I saw a Humpback whale swimming lazily in the waters of De Kelders. They normally stay in the open ocean and only occasionally come close to shore.

It is our Whale season in Gansbaai, so we will have lots more whales to see. There is already quite a few Southern Right Whales with there calves close to De Kelders shore line.

10 July 2010

The Shark operators are taking the day off today, with swells of approximately 4.6 m and a wind speed of about 24 km/h and 99% of rain. This is pancake, stay at home in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace day, but as we all know, some of us has to go out and that is why the restaurants in Gansbaai is waiting to welcome anybody looking for something hot to eat and drink.

8 July 2010

The weather in Gansbaai is wonderful these past few days and the shark operators are fully booked and have up to 3 trips a day. I ask some of the visitors at The Roundhouse that went on a trip what is the biggest shark they have seen and the reply normally is about 3 to 3.5 meters.

I did some research and found that in 1993 the biggest Great White Shark ever caught was at the Island of Prince Edward. The shark was about 20 feet long. Unfortunately it didn’t give the weight, but it is interesting to learn that a single shark consumes about 11 tons of food in a year and that it has an enormous liver that can weigh up to 24 percent of its entire weight.

The Great White also avoids fighting for its food. When there is only enough for one, they will have a tail slapping contest. They will swim past each other, slap the surface of the water towards each other and the shark swimming of with the meal is the one with the most tail slaps.

These are such wonderful and interesting animals.

7July2010

Gansbaai. The Capital of The Great White Shark, but there are more than 350 different kinds of sharks and all of them are in some sort of danger.

Scientists can determine the age of a shark by counting the rings that form on its vertebra, much like you would count the rings on a tree to tell its age, and The Great White only reaches sexual maturity at the age of 10 to 12 years and the females only reproduce twice in her whole life.

The female gives birth to 4 to 14 live pups and the pups can be 5 feet or more at birth. They swim away from the mother immediately and have to fend for themselves, there is no maternal care giving at all.

With these facts it is no wonder that sharks are in danger, because most of them are killed before they reached maturity. It’s not only humans that kill them, but it can be other sharks, deceases, and even the Orca. The Orca better known as the Killer Whale sometimes hunt in packs and they are too fast and strong for even the biggest Great White.

Sharks are found in cool, coastal water throughout the world and although there is no reliable data on the Great white’s population the scientists agree that their numbers are decreasing and they are listed as an endangered species.

That is why it is heart warming to read that one hundred and thirteen countries have signed an agreement to protect migratory sharks. This agreement prohibits hunting, fishing, or deliberate killing of the great white shark, basking shark, whale shark, porbeagle shark, spiny dogfish, as well as the shortfin and longfin mako sharks.

7July2010

Gansbaai. The Capital of The Great White Shark, but there are more than 350 different kinds of sharks and all of them are in some sort of danger.

Scientists can determine the age of a shark by counting the rings that form on its vertebra, much like you would count the rings on a tree to tell its age, and The Great White only reaches sexual maturity at the age of 10 to 12 years and the females only reproduce twice in her whole life.

The female gives birth to 4 to 14 live pups and the pups can be 5 feet or more at birth. They swim away from the mother immediately and have to fend for themselves, there is no maternal care giving at all.

With these facts it is no wonder that sharks are in danger, because most of them are killed before they reached maturity. It’s not only humans that kill them, but it can be other sharks, deceases, and even the Orca. The Orca better known as the Killer Whale sometimes hunt in packs and they are too fast and strong for even the biggest Great White.

Sharks are found in cool, coastal water throughout the world and although there is no reliable data on the Great white’s population the scientists agree that their numbers are decreasing and they are listed as an endangered species.

That is why it is heart warming to read that one hundred and thirteen countries have signed an agreement to protect migratory sharks. This agreement prohibits hunting, fishing, or deliberate killing of the great white shark, basking shark, whale shark, porbeagle shark, spiny dogfish, as well as the shortfin and longfin mako sharks.