Researchers have discovered there are more great white sharks visiting coastline spots than previously thought. Surfers, take a deep breath, because they reckon this discovery confirms that sharks have much less of an interest in humans than Sharknado would have us believe.

Whilst we have our own local shark research teams in South Africa (see quotes below in blue), this particular project that follows these predators around the world is called OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker Project, which has tagged around 100 sharks since 2009. Being able to follow great whites has lead to a great discovery: the sharks are able to travel up to 3,000 kms in only three months. Not only are they quick, but they are able to navigate with great accuracy, as they return to the same spots year after year, regardless of the distance they have to swim.

The tagged sharks approached shorelines in the eastern United States and South Africa more than scientists thought they would . Dr Gregory Skomal,  a senior scientist working on the project said:

What is fascinating is that they approach the shore regularly and have probably been doing this for thousands of years if not hundreds of thousands, but go completely undetected.

He added, that there is no reason to be alarmed because the sharks obviously have no interest in us.

Check out the video above of scientists on the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker Project tagging a shark, and naming it Catherine.

2oceansvibe caught up with Alison Towner, from Marine Dynamics in Gansbaai, and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust.

White shark presence inshore has previously been associated with the availability of summer fish species and wind driven upwelled water in Gansbaai, South Africa. However, our tracking data has recently revealed that white sharks showing site fidelity to this popular cage diving region may actually spend most of the year patrolling close to the coastline elsewhere, sometimes very shallow, with seal colony visits being the seasonal behaviour.

Furthermore, many individuals make large offshore voyages thousands of kilometers into tropical and sub-antarctic regions, within very short temporal periods. We are only just beginning to understand the mechanisms behind their vast migrations but it seems that life history phase, sex, prey and environmental parameters may all affect this predators movements.

Find out more or go shark cage diving with Marine Dynamics here.

HELPFUL TIP: Shark cage diving is just one of the activities available at Grootbos – 2oceansvibe’s first choice in weekend getaway spots, just two hours out of Cape Town. Go there. Take a load off..

[Source: The Telegraph]