HERMANUS – What do you do when you find there is a shark in the pool? Well, you call Kim Sharklady from the Walker Bay Dive Academy. Kim says she recently got a call from the Marine Hotel that there was a shark in the tidal pool near the hotel. She says this happens at least once a year. During Full Moon and spring high tide the water is exceptionally high and a shark can get washed over the wall. This one was a spotted gully shark of 1.2 meters long. “We used the barrier close-in net method, as we have to try and get the shark in the shallow side of the pool and then try and guide the shark into another net. After five close catches we aborted until the next day as the shark was getting stressed, the divers cold and the high tide was coming over the wall again, making the shallows a little deeper”. They resumed the next day at high tide. “These sharks cruise very slowly but when they sense the barrier they are like lightning, slipping past us. They occur along our coastline and live in the kelp forest. Spotted gully sharks are often spotted by divers and snorkelers in the shallow gullies, hence their name”. Kim Sharklady MacLean and divers from her Walker Bay Dive Academy: Esau, André, Chad, Conlyn - also Sophie Croft, Joe Carty and Morgan van den Berg helped. “The community was fantastic. It was great to see how many of the public wanted to help us”. “These gully sharks are not dangerous at all. Humans are their biggest danger. For assistance with sharks, please call the Walker Bay Dive Academy on 0837468985 – we will help!” [playlist type="video" ids="8696"]
