Increase in shark attacks blamed on tourists
An increase in the number of shark attacks off the coast of South Africa has been blamed on a rise in the number of tourists taking part in special diving trips.
The BBC News website reports that one surfer died last year, with recent weeks seeing several serious attacks on fishermen, swimmers and surfers. Much of the blame has reportedly been attributed to companies that offer shark-diving experiences, with critics saying the activity encourages the sharks to come too close to the nation’s beaches.
Specifically, the practice of “chumming” – dropping bait to encourage the sharks close to the tourists – has been criticised. One surfer is quoted as saying: “Sharks are intelligent creatures and they learn to associate human beings with food. They follow the boats into the harbour, when in the past they wouldn’t come all the way in.”
But one expert, head of shark research at the South African Museum in Capetown, disagreed: “Some people feel that if you chum sharks, it makes them more aggressive and more prone to bite people, but there is a bit of flawed logic in that. It’s almost like saying that if you feed people hamburgers, it makes them more prone to punch people on the nose. It doesn’t necessarily follow.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
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