For decades, Gansbaai on South Africa’s Western Cape coastline was internationally recognised as the “great white shark capital of the world.” Today, however, conservationists and ecotourism operators say one of the ocean’s most iconic predators has virtually disappeared from the area.
The issue has once again come into focus after American skateboarder Jason Vanporpal completed a remarkable 5,500km fundraising journey from Uganda to Cape Town and chose shark cage diving in Gansbaai as one of his first tourist experiences. Yet the sharks featured during the excursion were not great whites but bronze whaler sharks, a species that has become increasingly dominant in local waters.
Marine Dynamics, one of South Africa’s best-known shark ecotourism operators, reported 312 bronze whaler shark sightings during 33 excursions last month alone. Several of the sharks exceeded three metres in length, with most identified as adult females.
According to founder Wilfred Chivell, the growing abundance of bronze whalers contrasts sharply with the near-total absence of great white sharks.
“We still have an incredible shark population,” Chivell explained in a recent interview. “What we no longer have are great white sharks.”
Once a Global Stronghold for Great Whites
Gansbaai became internationally famous during the 1990s and early 2000s due to its unusually high concentration of great white sharks. The area attracted scientists, filmmakers and tourists from around the world, contributing significantly to the local economy and global understanding of shark behaviour.
Marine Dynamics played a major role in documenting the species. In partnership with scientists, the organisation helped conduct one of South Africa’s most comprehensive great white shark population studies in 2012 and 2013.
Using photographic identification techniques based on unique dorsal fin markings, researchers identified approximately 800 individual sharks and estimated that between 1,000 and 1,300 great white sharks inhabited South African coastal waters at the time.
However, sightings began to decline dramatically in subsequent years.
Conservationists point to the arrival of killer whales, or orcas, in local waters beginning around 2017. The apex predators are known to hunt great white sharks and have been linked to changes in shark behaviour and distribution patterns.
According to Chivell, great whites initially returned after temporary absences but eventually became increasingly rare.
Human Activity Also Under Scrutiny
While orca predation is considered an important factor, environmental groups argue that human activities may be contributing significantly to the decline.
Longline fishing operations and shark-control measures used along parts of South Africa’s coastline have come under increasing scrutiny from conservationists.
Marine Dynamics spokesperson Loraine Shuttleworth noted that shark nets and drumlines deployed to protect bathers from attacks can unintentionally kill great white sharks each year. Given the species’ relatively slow reproductive cycle, even small annual losses may have substantial long-term impacts.
Researchers are also concerned about bycatch associated with commercial fishing activities. Although fishing operators maintain they do not target great white sharks, conservation advocates argue that accidental captures remain difficult to quantify and may be underreported.
The disappearance of great white sharks from Gansbaai represents more than a tourism issue. Scientists warn it may signal broader ecological shifts within South Africa’s marine ecosystems.
As conservation groups continue calling for stronger protection measures, the future of one of the country’s most iconic marine species remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that the waters once synonymous with great white sharks have changed dramatically over the past decade.
Source: Marine Dynamics, Dyer Island Conservation Trust