Workshop Mar Rojo

Taller de JBL 2005 Mar Rojo

Sharks on Elphinstone

Body language of the sharks. In a lecture by Dr. Erich Ritter (Shark Project) all participants were familiarized with the body language of the shark. In video clips, Dr. Ritter showed his interaction with white sharks when swiming in the open waters of South Africa. During subsequent dives on Elphinstone Reef (30 minutes from the coast) the participants could test their knowledge on oceanic white-tip sharks (Carcharodon longimanus).

The approach behaviour as the animals swam towards the divers could be clearly observed. In the open water most sharks swam directly towards the divers, without any shyness. The direction the shark will swim on in is indicated by the flapping down of a pectoral fin: the right pectoral fin flapped down signals that the shark will turn to the right in front of the diver etc. No aggressive behaviour was observed. This is indicated by a lowering of the pectoral fins.

Although the sharks, by chance, came very close to the injured diver, they did not show any more interest in the injured diver than in the other divers in the water. The following observation was also interesting: many people hold the misconception that there are no sharks in the area if dolphins are nearby. The opposite could be confirmed on the Dolphinhouse Reef. Although a large group of spinner dolphin are always to be found here, sharks (white-tip reef sharks) are also present in this location.

Dr. Ritter commented: sharks and dolphins are two predators at the top of the food chain which can certainly be seen hunting together. The old story "If there are dolphins, then there aren´t any sharks" probably comes from the TV series "Flipper" and is not based on fact!

Taller de JBL 2005 Mar Rojo

The inside of the reef.

Workshop Mar Rojo

Taller de JBL 2005 Mar Rojo

Sharks on Elphinstone

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