The Editor Cape Times Dear Sir Headline – Cape Times Monday 14 August 2006 On behalf of the Two Oceans Aquarium and AfriOceans Conservation Alliance, I hereby express our concern about the headline “Shark savages lifesaver” (Cape Times, Monday 14 August 2006).

Whilst the article by Melanie Gosling was factual and well-balanced, we are disappointed with the choice of words in the headline, particularly the word ‘’savages’’. The headline perpetuates the sensationalist portrayal of sharks as ‘man-eating monsters’ as per the ‘’Jaws’’ movie and contributes to public hysteria. We will not easily overcome our fear of sharks and we will not easily change the perception of sharks as ‘man-eaters’, but we have reached a point in our history where we must conserve them for the future well-being of the oceans.

Throughout the world shark populations are declining rapidly and the balance of nature is fast becoming disrupted. Our task, as a public aquarium and a marine conservation organisation, is to inform the public of the role of sharks in the oceans and the importance of the larger species as apex predators. We promote a balanced perspective regarding sharks and shark attacks and, in so doing, attempt to change the attitudes of those of us who enter the oceans, either for recreation or as a livelihood. Whilst shark attacks have and will continue to occur, humans do not form part of the natural diet of sharks – this is evident from the very low number of shark-related deaths worldwide versus the millions of people who swim, surf, paddle and dive in the oceans.

According to research, sharks are inquisitive by nature and will use their mouths to find out more about an object in the water. Once they are satisfied that the object is not food, they tend to let go and move on. However, like all predators, great white sharks are opportunistic and will attack easy targets. We know that they are attracted to disturbances on the surface, so a swimmer or someone flailing beyond the breakers, in the path of a shark, is more at risk of an attack than swimmers within the surf zone. We need to point out, that to date, not one of the shark incidents around the Peninsula has occurred within the surf zone. Great white sharks tend to hunt in deeper water so swimmers, surfers and the like should be encouraged to remain in shallow water within the surf zone to avoid encounters with these animals. Anyone venturing beyond the breakers is doing so at their own risk.

Keeping the human-shark issue in perspective, last year around the world, 791 people were killed by defective toasters, 652 people by chairs and 341 people were killed by kites. Only 9 people were killed by sharks world-wide. We, on the other hand, kill over 100 million sharks every year. Together with negative public perception and over-exploitation of these animals, sharks are in a precarious situation. If they are to survive globally, they require support from organisations, individuals and the media, who are in a position to change people’s perceptions about these maligned creatures. We urge the media to assist us in our campaign to encourage the public to ‘Rethink the Shark’ - to start accepting sharks for what they are – not ‘man-eaters’ which we should fear, but important ocean predators, which require our protection and respect.

The media alone has the power to influence public opinion and we believe that it should play a far greater role in educating the public about responsible behaviour in our oceans. In light of this we encourage the Cape Times to not only continue its accurate reporting, but also to carefully consider its choice of words in headlines when reporting on shark incidents in the future. Yours sincerely Helen Lockhart Communications Manager