“Our Icons”: Internet Welcomes News of Great White Sharks Returning to Cape Town

• According to reports, great white sharks are making a comeback in Cape Town, albeit low in numbers
• A Simon's Town-based tour guide shared why he felt the great white sharks left in the first place
• Social media users loved the news of the underwater predators' return, stating it would be great for tourism
• Dylan Irion, the co-founder of Cape RADD, explained to Briefly News the possible reasons for the sharks' absence

After four years of straying from the Western Cape seas, great white sharks reportedly returned after being spotted in Cape Town. Online users mostly received the news of the underwater predators' return positively.

Marine scientist provides possible reasons for great white sharks' absence

While speaking to Briefly News, Dylan Irion, a marine scientist and co-founder of Cape RADD, shared the four possible theories regarding the disappearance of the great white sharks.

Read also

“Like, I’m so confused”: US man’s hurricane Milton prep for his Corvette leaves SA stunned

1. Changing ocean conditions

"We are seeing many ocean properties changing worldwide, with increasing temperatures being a notable one. Interestingly, the coastal waters of the Western Cape are experiencing a cooling effect, possibly due to increased cold-water upwelling.

"White sharks can tolerate a range of temperatures, but perhaps there are knock-on effects that we are unaware of that cause their dispersal. This is an active area of research."

2. Food being overfished

"White sharks are well known for their marine mammal diet but are actually generalist feeders, consuming many other smaller sharks and fish. Another theory is that overfishing has depleted their food sources.

"Most of the science published on this shows that declines in fish stocks happened long before any changes in shark presence and that some stocks are even recovering. I would like to believe that a shark capable of swimming across oceans is not going to sit and wait to starve to death."

Read also

Nick Evans captures stunning 3.5m python in South Africa, prepares to lay eggs this summer

3. Port and Starboard - the famous orcas

"There is clear evidence that sharks respond to killer whales by leaving the immediate area. At the moment, this theory has the most evidence. They've gone somewhere else.

"Perhaps we're more sensitive to the issue, but it seems that more and more reports of sightings are coming from the East Coast. The challenge is that a dead shark and a shark that has relocated look the same in our models - they're not there!"

4. Could the sharks have died?

So then we arrive at the possibility that the population has been directly killed or removed by humans or otherwise. Shark nets and drum lines actively remove sharks along the East Coast. Every effort is made to release these sharks as quickly as possible and it is a historic practice with deeply rooted social and economic consequences that is difficult to stop.

Read also

"Most stressful township in South Africa": SA mortified by typical township life in Alex

Data on live releases and deaths are available and don't show any trends to my knowledge. Bycatch from other shark fisheries is highlighted as a possible source of mortality. Without evidence, all we can do is guess."

Great white sharks make a comeback after 4 years

According to The South African, shark spotters reported four sightings in one week at the end of last year. Although the numbers are not great, scientists remain hopeful about their presence despite the mighty species' dwindling numbers.

Last year, Simon's Town-based tour guide Dave Hurwitz told Daily Maverick that it was uncertain whether the sharks' presence was sporadic, one-off sightings or an indication of their return to False Bay (which includes the areas from Simon's Town to Gordon's Bay).

Dave noted that he didn't think their absence was caused by a lack of food stocks as there was no decline in seal, yellow fish, katonkel or smaller shark species numbers.

Read also

"Beginning to look a lot like Durban": Taxi street party in Cape Town divides SA

However, like Dylan, he believes it may have to do with the impact of orcas. Stating that it would be challenging to study a highly migratory species, Dave commented:

"When they arrived, we started to see a reduction in white sharks, so there seems to be a correlation, but of course, correlation doesn't mean causation."

He added:

"We would like to remind water users to exercise caution whenever they enter the ocean and be aware that there may be more white shark activity in the bay than we have experienced in recent years."

Online users welcome great white sharks' presence

Under The South African's Facebook post, many local social media users loved the idea of sharks returning to Cape Town waters.

A happy Linda Kessler stated:

"How wonderful. Our icons."

Robyn Emily jokingly wrote in the comment section:

"Orcas are licking their lips."

Emilio Carlos Harper also added humour when they said:

Read also

Couple sell everything they own, live full-time on cruise ship

"We can't blame them for leaving SA with all that has happened recently."

Madikane Aobakwe Ramolodi told the online community:

"Good news for tourism."

Ndaba Nkomane said of the sharks' return:

"Sharks, whales and fish belong to the ocean. They live there. They stay there. The sea is their natural habitat. It is their home. The ocean belongs to them."

Woman falls off paddleboard onto shark

In another story, Briefly News reported about a woman paddleboarding at the beach who toppled off her board and landed on a shark swimming in the water.

Mark Fitzgibbon, a marine biologist and content creator, explained to Briefly News the likelihood of the shark biting the woman.

Source: Briefly News