Rays and sharks
Covid shark video lands the WHO in hot water
The United Nations health agency has missed the boat on conserving sharks, say activists. Nico Booyens and Natalie dos Santos report.
Of rashes and threshers: How dermal denticles make the apex predator even harder to handle
Surfer and sometimes shark researcher Sean Kelly takes a salty look at shark skin, a marvel of evolution.
Bycatch threat to apex predators
Shark and ray numbers are dwindling. Bottom trawling and a lack of government monitoring are adding to the problem, writes Katie Biggar
Hooked on safety – the price of keeping KZN’s bathers safe from sharks
The KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board has a mandate to protect bathers against shark attacks while minimising the environmental impact. It insists its move to using baited drumlines rather than nets is a step in the right direction.
Spotted!
How a surfer’s project turned the tide on shark fears
A brush with his own mortality stoked big wave rider and adventurer Greg Bertish into launching Shark Spotters – an internationally acclaimed bathing safety project that’s also doing wonders for shark conservation. He spoke to Rio Button
A shiver of sharks:
Old stories tell another truth
Indigenous cultures venerated sharks, with a rich mythology that aided their preservation. It’s a lesson we can draw from today, writes Lisa Cloete
How Old Oven Mitt capitalised on a famous exit (and came to the rescue of a struggling industry)
Did orcas frighten away False Bay’s cow sharks and what became of the great whites? Marine biologist Leigh de Necker and the Shark Spotters research team, play sleuths
In deep:
From barbel fishing to basking sharks
Young South Africans get little exposure to sea life, and that’s part of the reason sharks are demonised. Njabulo Mduli, tells about his journey from fear to fascination and shares a few facts about three big, but lesser-known, beasts.
Killer story: welcome twist to a tired old tale
Are South Africans warming to sharks? Roving Reporter, Natalie dos Santos, brings some heartening news from our chilly winter seas, even as fears grow for the future of these apex predators.
RAY TO GO: Aspiring science writers invited to explore sharky waters
Should we give a rat’s ass that many species of rays and sharks could be on the brink of extinction? Are people actually part of any “man-eating sharks” diet?
