A perfectly calm day with excellent visibility meant a quick afternoon out on our new research boat to observe the great whites prolific in the shallows at this time of the year. We felt literally surrounded by fins with a couple more curious sharks attracted by the noise of the engine coming to take a closer look at us too. The sharks were lying in very shallow water and not far from the beach yet there have been no attacks reported in this area. They just seemed to be resting. We did spot a seal and jellyfish, both prey of the great white yet no major predation activity. At one point three sharks almost parallel to each other swam away from the shore. It really is exciting to try and interpret their behaviour. We logged GPS and water depth and temperature and took photos of fins to identify them back at our desks. We did recognise Little Wolfgang, also seen in the Mossel Bay area.
Picture: Oliver Jewell, one of our marine biologists, with Albert Scholtz, our whale boat skipper.
