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It is with great sadness and disturbing fear that I am commenting on the latest shark attack, which occurred at Sunny Cove in Cape Town on the early hours of Monday, 15 November.

Sunny Cove, near Fishhoek is apparently a popular spot for early morning swimmers including 77 year-old Tyna Webb, who has been bathing there for the last 17 years. More surprisingly, as I was quite unaware of the phenomenon, some 30-40 other early morning swim fanatics indulge in the same ritual.

Tyna Webb however, had her last swim on Monday morning. Witnesses, who estimated the shark as over six meters long, say they saw it circle her several times and then swallow her whole. She was about 20 meters out when it happened.

National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman, Craig Lanbinon who was searching for the shark by air, said that it was spotted and was larger than the helicopter he was in.

Now although she wasn’t a surfer, she was a sea-lover and so I want to dedicate this column to her. It’s simply to close for comfort. Sunny Cove may not be a raging surf spot, but it is close to several. What is going to be done about these shark attacks? In just April of this year, JP Andrew was attacked at Muizenberg and lost one of his legs. Fortunately for him, the attack wasn’t lethal, but others aren’t as lucky. David Bornman was bitten and killed in September of last year, whilst bodyboarding off Noordhoek.

Its always interesting too, how optimists never fail to bring up how many other ways people are killed today. No one seems to be taking these attacks seriously. Someone will always tell you how falling coconuts are more deadly. I guess the difference is then, that a coconut will really hurt and maybe break the skin. Its not exactly going to hunt you from below, and then attack with the force of five busses all kitted-up with rows of razor sharp teeth. It’s not going to tear through your flesh and rip your arms from your sockets in a maddened feeding frenzy. No, I doubt a coconut will do that.

It sounds like I am one of those “kill the sharks” people. Fact is that I am not. I firmly believe that swimming and surfing or whatever you are doing in the sea, you do at your own risk. I do not however, believe that the ocean is one hundred percent their domain. If you imagine the vast size of it, then it seems only fair to use a bit of it for ourselves. Its not like we are fencing off 90% of the sea for our own use. That would be ludicrous and we would never have enough barbed wire for the job. The tiny bit of coastline however, doesn’t seem too much to ask for. My train of thought seems to be heading towards the “shark net” option. In KZN, it works, but I doubt that it would in Cape Town seas. The reason being that too many other sea-creatures, i.e. seals and penguins, will be harmed in the process. So what can be done?

Killing them is not an option. I am fully aware of the horror and reality of shark finning, most popular on the Asian market. This disgusting trade is responsible for over 20 million shark deaths a year. What’s more inhumane, is that generally speaking, the hunters simply slice fins off living sharks and then throw them back into the sea, incapable of any movement, and thus forcing them to die and slow and torturing death. Maybe then, stopping the attacks by killing all sharks shouldn’t be the focus. One should instead try to prevent and minimise them. The attacks that is.

If this is the case, then the chumming and cage diving debate needs to be brought up. Many a heated and unresolved argument has been had on these topics. Does chumming and has chumming been responsible for the increase in attacks. Craig Maree, KZN bodyboarder made an interesting point on a public reader poll on Wavescape. He argued that if he had to lure a pack of hungry lions into a town, feed them and tease them and then leave, they more than likely would attack and kill the next human being in their sight. The reality of that happening however is slim. If one was caught luring a wild lion into a town I am sure rather strict and severe action against that person would take place. So why then is it allowed in Cape waters? There are signs all over the peninsula saying, “Don’t feed the baboons” simply to try and avoid baboons from associating human beings with food and becoming possible danger threats. But isn’t that what chumming is?

So where is the line drawn? Or is one drawn at all? Do we try to find equilibrium, do we fight it, or do we just let it be. Personally, with three lethal attacks in just over a year in Cape Town and plenty of other scares, injuries and missing persons, I think its time something was done.

Researchers are doing there best to come up with solutions. Shark nets are an option, but only in specific parts of South Africa. Maybe the Shark Repellent Leash fitted with an anti-shark electromagnetic device is the answer. Maybe neon pink wetsuits and luminous yellow swimming costumes could be worn to scare off sharks. Maybe shark cage diving and chumming should be banned. Maybe we should strap meat to our fellow riders… and hope the shark finds them before us…

I simply think something should be done. How many more deaths do we have to hear about, how many more people have to die in fear. Maybe when a tourist is taken from the popular beach like Camps Bay or Clifton, which I doubt is to far off in the future, maybe then, somebody will put some money into researching and fixing this problem. And let me remind you, it is a problem. You don’t have to be a surfer to realise that. Tyna Webb wasn’t.