South Africa Shark Conservancy

• It was created in 2007 as a non-profit organization because at the time, there were no NGOs on commercially exploited sharks. The organization tries to promote best practices when dealing with sharks. It also performs ecological research in Walker Bay, which is the least researched area despite the major tourism industry there.
  
• There are around 400 species of sharks, with new species still being discovered. They inhabit all oceans of the Earth. There are many new species being found in Indonesian waters.
  
• Genetics has shown that some species are actually two or three different species. This is important because it helps to keep a tabs on the numbers of a certain species of shark.
  
• South Africa has one of the highest diversity of sharks in the world. Australia exceeds it.
  
• There are many shark species that are endemic (only found in) to South Africa because of a high variety of temperatures and habitats.
• The organization has many different ongoing projects, including:
• Bull Shark Project: caught the largest in the world (around 4 meters in length).
  
• The Effects of Shark Cage Diving:
• It is a great thing for people to interact with an animal in the wild.
  
• Many people go from scared to in awe of the animal. "The Great White Shark often changes human perception of sharks."
• Fin Photo ID has shown that different sharks have gone to the shark cage diving locations, meaning that the companies are NOT creating the only source of food for the sharks.
  
• There are many ethics behind it.
• Do not let the shark have the bait (You are NOT allowed to actively feed them).
• Do not let the shark thrash the cage. It is very harmful to them.
• In South Africa, you are allowed to use a seal decoy off the back of the boat to attract sharks to breech. This is NOT allowed in California, because it takes a lot of energy for the shark to do this.
  
• Companies are NOT independently monitored, which is a big issue.
  
• Around a 17 billion rand (17 million dollars) economy a year from it.
  
• The show Shark Men, now known as Shark Wranglers, came to South Africa to tag some sharks. Their website shows you where the sharks are at all times. This was a huge controversial issue in South Africa.
  
• There are many sport fishing competitions in South Africa.
  
• It is catch and release, however, many fishermen aim to catch sharks.
  
• SASC has informed the fishermen the best way to catch the shark without harming them.
  
• Many scientific research facilities have tagged sharks from sport fishing competitions. They have also told the fishermen what to look for and what lengths to measure for scientific research. This has saved science a lot of money and resources, which is good, because there is not a lot of money in shark conservancy in South Africa.
  
• The mako shark has a steak that is very similar to the swordfish, however, the swordfish steak is a lot more profitable and desired.
  
• Spot tagging is controversial because it required you to drill a hole in the shark's dorsal fin, and it may cause growth on the area.
  
• Over 100 million sharks are killed a year (between 73-140 million), based on fishery records. The biggest threat to sharks is shark fin soup, which is a large delicacy in Asian countries. In order to conserve the shark, one must ban finning of sharks.
  
• Shark skin is as good as sandpaper.
  
• Sharks have many distinguishing features different from other fish:
• skin
• cartilaginous skeletons
• Allows them to be lighter, and helps with floating because they do not have a swim bladder.
  
• breathing through their nose
• internal fertilization
  
• The shark's spinal column has rings, which helps to age the shark (similar to a tree).