55 false killer whales beached themselves at a beach off Kommetjie, Cape Town early on the morning of the 31st May. I went to photograph, but found myself with one hand holding the camera and the other trying to help the whales. It was a tragic day and there was no happy ending, but it was inspiring to see so many people giving their all - determined to save the lives of these beautiful creatures. Wet, cold and tired - volunteers of all ages worked from morning until late afternoon to stop the whales from drowning and to try and help them swim back out to sea. Lessons need to be learned from this stranding and others across the world to put in place a best practice protocol should this every happen again.

Having returned earlier this month from the warm waters off South Africa’s east coast to photograph my favorite shark, the tiger shark, at the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area (MPA) the news from Mark and Gail Addison of Blue Wilderness Dive Expeditions (who first introduced me to these sharks) that an educated young fishermen had just caught and killed three tiger sharks struck a devastating chord.

A new report recently published in the journal Science states that only about 4% of the world’s oceans remain undamaged by human activity. Fishing, pollution and climate change are cited as major factors in exacting a heavy toll from almost half our ocean waters. Sadly, even protected waters are not immune to man’s insatiable appetite for destruction and due to a lack of enforcement South Africa’s marine protected areas are no exception. These magnificent sharks were caught, killed, dismembered and landed openly within the sanctuary of the Aliwal Shoal MPA in broad daylight.

One of five sharks afforded protection (including the Great Whites, Ragged Tooth, Tiger, Zambezi, and Whale Sharks), it is illegal to catch tiger sharks within the Aliwal Shoal MPA, and within the entirety of South African waters it is illegal to return to the beach with anything less than a whole shark. These killings have blatantly flouted the MPA regulations and stress the need to ensure that the government supports the protection they have already put in place by policing and enforcing the legislation.

Tiger sharks are the main attraction for thousands of tourists who travel across the world for the opportunity to dive or snorkel the shoal to see these sharks. This non-consumptive use of tiger sharks was started ten years ago by Mark Addison and is currently being offered to clients by some 14 operators. One dead tiger shark might fetch a once off payment of no more than $50-100 dollars for the fisherman, but alive that same shark might be worth in excess of $10 000 every year in the marine eco-tourism arena. Shark diving tourism at Aliwal shoal is a good example of a sustainable activity that utilizes our ocean resources in a non-consumptive manner and in the process creates much needed employment for hundreds of people in the tourism and hospitality industry along this section of South Africa's coast.

Further research revealing the sobering news that five other tiger sharks were killed the week before questions how many tigers sharks have been killed in total by these unscrupulous fishermen determined to flout the law. Approximately 100 million sharks are removed from the world’s oceans each year, surely South Africa must do all it can to save the sharks within its waters, especially those within its MPAs. Clearly government, NGO’s and tourism operators must combine forces to stop this travesty and save one of the world’s last shark paradises.  

Freediving ... not fishing ... 

Cameras.... not hooks! 

I have just returned from an expedition to the northern Kwa-Zulu Natal coast to find and photograph the infamous Zambezi shark (Charcharhinus leucas). Joining Mark Addison (Blue Wilderness), Thomas Peschak (photographer) and Charles Maxwell (underwater cameraman) we spent a week in the water trying to coax these phantom sharks close enough to see their beady eyes. On each dive they descended further leaving me to watch as their tails disappeared beyond the edges of visibility. Having witnessed their behaviour I cannot understand how they were titled wanton killers of the sea and not scaredy shark. No matter that conditions were not in our favour (the wind was blowing from the wrong direction  hence the game fish were not running) and the Zambezies were incredibly frustrating, if you give enough of your time to the ocean she always rewards you with surprises. Mine turned out to be an inquisitive and playful whale shark. Feeding on a cocktail of plankton she hung vertically in the water column gulping and sieving through gallons of the rich inshore soup. Most of the whale sharks I have encountered tend to loose interest rapidly and descend at a pace that makes photography difficult. This whale shark was a player – turning towards the boat and not in the least camera shy.

The golden beach along this stretch of ocean rises dramatically into a curvaceous skyline that undulates for miles with dunes coated in a thick indigenous forest. We followed these dunes through a sanctuary of untouched ocean to Quarter Mile Reef in Sodwana Bay. For two glorious hours I hovered above a coral reef, capturing images of raggedtooth sharks as they moved through the maze and onto open sand. Known for their sharp bucked teeth, they are docile sharks, lightly spotted with a golden sheen that makes them stand out in the crisp blue of the ocean. This large coastal species has one of the lowest reproductive rates known among elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), giving birth to one or two large young every two years. As a result, annual rates of population increase and ability to sustain fishing pressure are very low. In South Africa raggies, as they affectionately termed, are listed as 'vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List.