Buried Whale the Culprit?

Yesterday's death of a 25-year-old as a result of shark bite at Second Beach in Port St Johns has again highlighted an urgent need for a proper investigation into a persistent rumour that fats and oils from the blubber of a whale buried in the sand there is slowly seeping into the sea, and has been doing so for years.

(Pictures right, from a blog last year on white sharks feeding on a bryde's whale carcass, courtesy Alison Kock / SOSF Shark Centre)

The attack took place in waist-deep water in the white water of broken waves amongst a crowded group of swimmers. The shark came in far further than the back line, risking the impact of the surf along the way. Why?

Second Beach is most probably the most infamous for shark attacks in the world, with six deaths in five years. The stats suggest something is awry. The answer lies deeper than occasional sangoma rites; or sporadic effluent overflows; or detritus disgorged by rivers in flood. Sure, they add a unique scent to the chumming mix, which may explain why this beach is so attractive to sharks.

There has been much outrage and debate over the last few years, particularly after young surfing prodigy Zama Ndamase's death (the fifth in three years) a year ago to the day. People asked at the time: What is the cause? What are authorities doing about it? Why are the facilities not being upgraded?

Veteran Border surfer David Malherbe said in an interview with the Daily Dispatch that a lasting solution needed to be urgently formulated, commenting: "If half this number of attacks had happened at most other beaches in the country there would have been massive outrage and preventative action taken, but obviously due to weak local government/ municipalities, and the location, nothing has happened.”

Of course, the ultimate - albeit depressing - irony could be that the authorities have not only dealt with it poorly, they could be directly responsible. Claims have been made made that sharks are attracted by offal thrown into the sea during sangoma (witch doctor) ceremonies, sewage outflow or dead animals that float into the sea via flooding rivers.

But what of the persistent rumour that the Port St Johns municipality buried a dead whale at Second Beach more than a decade ago?

Mark Addison, who runs popular shark diving operation Blue Wildnerness at the Aliwal Shoal off the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, has been investigating the rumour, which he had heard on good authority, but so far had come across no "factual validation but a lot of speculation".

If a whale carcass lies beneath the sand at Second Beach, even if buried 20 years ago, enough oil and fat from the blubber could still cause the scent of the carcass to seep into the sea.

"It will take up to 40 years for solid waste to dissolve, (carcass disposal on beaches has been common practice in municipalities such as Durban for decades), and as the Van Der Riets example showed, it is extremely dangerous to dispose of any marine animals in the beach zone," says Addison.

Of course, the ultimate - albeit depressing - irony could be that the authorities have not only dealt with it poorly, they could be directly responsible.

The Van Der Riets example refers to the decision in 2009 by local authorities to bury a whale at the KwaZulu-Natal beach of Van Der Riets after it washed up there.

"Six months after the decision to bury the animal on the beach they had a fishing competition at Van Der Riets and caught 16 white sharks in a morning! The fisherman reported a slick of oil “leaking” across the beach which was too slippery to walk on!"

Yikes.

Addison is concerned about alleged stalling on ways to remedy the situation "with people's lives clearly at risk", saying that research by scientists, including tagging, is all important but there was a lot that could be done now to remedy the situation.

"Definitely time for serious management decisions at this location with regard to lifeguards, and medical facilities at beach. I am firmly of the opinion that there needs to be a Shark Spotter network in place with communication between the vantage point at the Gap and the beach lifeguards. There needs to be better pay for the lifeguards and improved medical facilities, as well as a very advanced level of first aid training for the lifeguards.

"Better clinic facilities will help but since the mayor seems hell bent on buying farms in the Free State with the money not sure we are going to get any improvement in that direction."