17 February 2021
17
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MY ENVIRONMENT
A golden day out on the ocean Zealand Whaler and in Afrikaans the ‘Ratelhaai’, comparing these tough-skinned animals to the fearless Honey Badger. By Jax Bath
coming up and giving the divers in the cage some serious thrills. They are a schooling species and so the presence of other Bronzies doesn’t bother them at all. No only do they investigate the lures put out by us humans, but they will also check out seaweed or any other objects floating at the surface.
T
his week’s ocean story takes place in the next bay east of Walker Bay, in an area that has been known as The Shallows long before the Blake Lively movie. Kleinbaai has long been famed as a hive of shark activity, holding the title of Great White Shark capital of the world, until recent years when the dynamics have changed and other species have begun to surface during times when the Great Whites find themselves on hiatus. For the first time in over a year, I had the wonderful opportunity to join White Shark Projects out on the water for a shark cage diving excursion. Humans have a long history with these animals, with the name Bronze Whaler stemming back from the whaling era when these opportunistic cartilaginous creatures would help themselves to the whalers’ catch before whales were taken back to port. They are also famous for following the largest shoal on earth, joining in on the annual sardine run when fishermen and divers encounter them as they hunt one of their favourite foods.
After a warm welcome in their newly revamped meeting room, we set off down to the boat nestled in the quaint Kleinbaai harbour. The surroundings were painted with mist, creating an ethereal atmosphere as we launched through the narrow channel and made our way towards Joubert’s Dam. This is the other name for The Shallows, the area where we find ourselves doing most of the shark cage diving throughout the year. It’s only about a 15 minute boat ride out, and once we arrive at a potential site, the skipper assesses the sea conditions to choose a spot to drop anchor.
In addition to the Bronze Whalers, we also had a cheeky seal come up to say hi. This particular girl has been around the boats for ages and specialises in hunting the mullets, pushing them up against the boat before gobbling them up. A very strange addition to this trip was the presence of White Sea Catfish at the boat. In the five years that I’ve been visiting this area, these fish have never ever come to the surface before. They grow to a size of around 26cm and are found between Swakopmund and East London. The males of this species should be nominated for father of the year awards, carrying their eggs and later the hatched embryos of their brood for up to 4 months in their mouths! This can cause them to lose almost 1/3 of their body weight, which is the same sort of dramatic weight loss seen by Southern Right Whales when nursing their calves.
Around the shark cage diving boats, the Bronze Whaler is a real delight. I find them a lot more playful than their great white cousins, exhibiting an almost puppy-like nature as they hang out around the boats. They grow to just over 3m in length and the colour of their skin ranges from sun-kissed gold to dark copper, but my favourite thing about these sharks is hands down their gorgeous eyes.
After a lovely time sitting on anchor and taking in the sight of all these wonderful species, we took the scenic route home, stopping off at Geyser Rock to say hi to our 60 000 strong Cape Fur Seal colony. This is perhaps the best time of year to pay a visit to these playful pinnipeds, as the pups are beginning to learn to swim. We watched as they mucked about in the water for a while before making our way back for a hearty lunch, the perfect end to the perfect oceanic excursion. From here, the process of chumming begins where fish oil is used to create a pungent slick. This chum slick runs from the boat out towards the ocean, and the idea is to have the sharks swim through it, pick up on the scent and approach the boat. We were lucky to have a curious golden girl come up and visit straight away, having a quick squiz around the boat before disappearing into the depths.
This golden girl is most commonly known as a Bronze Whaler Shark. These sharks have frequented the shark cage diving boats since 2017 and are a sight to behold. They go by several names: The Bronze Whaler, The Copper Shark, Cocktail Shark, New
Great Whites have blue eyes, which appear almost black in colour when one encounters them. Copper Sharks however have green, cat-like eyes with really defined pupils. Their eyes are best gazed at whilst under water, though they sometimes give us a lovely view from the boat as they lift their heads to investigate things at the surface of the water.
On our trip, we had three Bronze Whalers around, taking turns
Until next week!
