South Africa and protests, the two really do go hand in hand.

The SABC might not show them of course, given that they’re trying to spread good news and stuff, but perhaps they might cover the kind of protest many of us never even knew existed.

Tomorrow more than 100 protesters will don wetsuits and oxygen tanks, taking waterproof banners along to make their point. Over to TimesLive:

The Silence of the Sharks, the biggest underwater protest ever held in the country, in conjunction with the fifth annual Paddle Out for Sharks, will see divers jumping off boats into the sea off Scottburgh, with banners protesting against illegal fishing trawlers in South African waters.

After Paddle Out for Sharks participants lay flowers at the beach, the divers will form a group in the water, holding banners. Following a countdown, they will descend with the banners to a depth of 10m.

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who is a fan of those Chinese trawlers, but if you’re a shark lover they really are the pits:

“South Africa is home to a wide variety of sharks. The South Coast boasts two of the best shark-diving sites on the planet – Aliwal Shoal and Protea Banks,” event ambassador Olivia Symcox said…

Shark scientist Jess Escobar said one of the biggest threats to sharks in South African seas was illegal fishing.

“It is becoming a bigger trade and it’s important for the community to get together and take control of our resources.

“In the Aliwal Shoal area, besides being important to the ecosystem, sharks and other marine life are an important part of the community’s livelihood,” Escobar said.

As a collective we really do need to start putting pressure on government when it comes to policing our shorelines. It’s no secret that they are under attack, and whilst ‘out of sight out of mind’ tends to rule the roost this is one crisis we shouldn’t turn a blind eye to.

[source:timeslive]