The argument that Great Whites are being conditioned to associate divers with an easy meal through the stimulus of chum whilst cage diving is not holding water in higher scientific circles... check out this study by the Dept. of Zoology at Stellenbosch University (
www.capetowncity.com - click on whales, then sharks, then cagediving) - they've posted a study about the potential conditioning of Great Whites...
Can sum it up by these extracts from the study (though it's well worth a read!):
" It is, however, seldom possible to successfully condition animals if these requirements are not all met:
For instance, if the training sessions are scheduled a few days or weeks apart at irregular intervals, with little or no positive reinforcement during these intervals, even advanced animals such as mammals often fail to form the necessary association between stimulus and reward.
Similarly, most animals fail to associate a particular stimulus with food if the stimulus is not regularly followed by the reward. If fact, withholding the reward when the stimulus is applied is a standard procedure to extinguish ("de-program") a conditioned response in experimental studies!...
...We clearly have good years with few or no attacks, and bad years with many attacks, but there is a general tendency for the number of attacks to increase as more and more people enter the water. At present there is no reason to believe that the increase in white shark attack can be attributed to the cage diving industry."
Given the sheer number of Great Whites in False Bay (where cage diving occurs), were sharks becoming conditioned to view people as "easy meat", no diver, kayaker, spearo, diver or swimmer would stand a chance...
Having said that, incidents like the one below (the recent spate being the first I can recall being reported in False Bay in the last decade) would become daily, not rare occurences!
Excerpt from Natal Sharks Board website:
"For those who are superstitious, Friday the 13th may well be a day to take extra care. This was certainly the case for veteran surfski rider, Paul Mauger, who had an uncomfortably close encounter with a large white shark on Friday 13 September. According to a press report (Weekend Argus 14.9.02), Mauger was paddling from Fish Hoek to Simonstown, south of Cape Town, enjoying the glorious spring weather, when the shark hit the back of his 4 m long ski. Mauger fell off the ski and turned around to find himself face-to-face with an enormous white shark. The shark had bitten off the back section of the fibre-glass ski and was holding it in his mouth. While Mauger watched the shark swim around him for a while, he held on to the rest of his ski (otherwise it would have sunk), to ensure that he had something between him and the shark. The shark then disappeared and after a wait of 3-4 minutes Mauger slowly swam the 100 m distance to the shore, in order not to arouse the curiosity of the shark should it still be in the area. He reached the shore safely.
This was not an isolated incident and, according to the article, there have been at least four cases of a white shark investigating divers or other surfski riders in the general area. The SA Navy recovered the ski in what was their third shark-induced rescue in the past two months."
- yikes!!
:crutch:hmm :hmm
