Fish
 I love it when South Africans get together and have an intellectual debate about topical issues, to me we always seem a little naive. I love the guy who says 'no it's not that there're more sharks, it's just our binoculars are better'. Lifeguard Achmat Hassiem bears no grudge against the Great White shark that severed his right foot in a deep-sea struggle off the False Bay coast two weeks ago.
"He got my foot, I got his tooth. It's only fair, we're even," quips the bulky 24-year-old, holding up the broken point of a ragged-edged incisor doctors removed from his mangled lower-leg.
Hassiem appears bemused by renewed calls for shark culling following his near-death encounter with a Great White off Sunrise Beach on August 13.
"You can't blame them for what they are. They are a top predator. They don't have hands to feel. They use their mouths to feel, and unluckily as humans we bleed."
Hassiem is one of seven people to have been bitten by sharks off the greater Cape Town coast in the past five years. There were another six attacks on small sea craft in the same period.
Three people died, including 77-year old Tyna Webb who was killed by a shark while swimming at Fish Hoek, also in False Bay, in November 2004.
Shark experts say there has been a rise in the number of attacks, but this must be seen against the background of more people venturing into the water, especially with the rise of sports like kayaking and water-skiing.
From an average 0.1 incidents per year in the 1960s of people or their personal craft being bitten by sharks off the Cape coast, the rate increased to 0.3 in the 1970s, 0.6 in the 1980's and 0.7 in the 1990s, said Natal Shark Board research department head Geremy Cliff.
Eight such incidents were reported between 2000 and 2005, translating into an average of 1.3 per year.
A recent shark "hype" in the local media was illogical if one considered these numbers, suggested Cliff.
"Thousands of people are killed on the road, but nobody stops driving."
Putting up shark nets was not an option, he said, as they were very expensive, difficult to maintain, and indiscriminately killed sea animals.
Culling was also not a solution, as Great Whites were a protected species.
Shark Working Group spokesperson Gregg Oelofse said culling would have little impact on human safety in any event.
"It would be little more than a symbolic response to appease angry people. If you wanted to be truly safe you would have to cull every shark in the sea. And nobody knows how many there are."
Oelofse said there was no reason for hysteria or for people to stop swimming and surfing.
"I can relate to people feeling under threat. But we need to recognise that for as long as we use the sea for recreation, there will on occasion be an attack."
Surfing events administrator Paul Botha disagrees. "Something needs to be done. There has been enough talking."
He claims to have observed a huge increase in shark numbers in False Bay, something he blames on the Great White's protected status combined with a food imbalance caused by over-fishing.
"We have created a problem. We have an over-population of sharks with not enough to eat."
As solutions, he cited the introduction of a sonar system to alert swimmers of shark activity, or a "shark flying squad" to keep the fish under surveillance and kill aggressive ones.
Surfing South Africa general manager Robin de Kock said there was no evidence of the existence of rogue, man-eating sharks.
"If sharks were really out to kill people, they would be having a great feast."
The experts said there was no proof of increased shark numbers.
"We see more sharks simply because our binoculars are better," quipped De Kock.
Sharks were not "cruising around waiting to bite people", added Cliff. Some mistook humans for their natural prey, while others "mouthed" people out of curiosity.
"Unfortunately we have very thin skins and we don't take very well to these 'gentle' mouthings."
As for Hassiem, he is eager to get back in the water.
"I won't lie, I am a bit scared. It's going to take a while to get used to, but eventually I'll be out there again." - Sapa-AFP
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