By Willem Steenkamp
The horrific shark attack at Muizenberg this week has turned the focus on Great White shark tour operators whose activities many believe are the cause for the increase of attacks on that part of the coast.
Cape Town surfer JP Andrew, 16, was attacked by a shark off Muizenberg beach on Monday.
A host of readers who called and wrote letters to newspapers this week said they believed the controversial practice of "chumming" - pouring a mixture of fish, oil and blood into the water to attract sharks - has made these killers from the deep associate humans with food.
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'Sharks will always return to an area where they have previously found food' "Why should these tour operators be allowed to continue if there is only the slightest possibility that their activities put the lives of thousands of tourist and visitors to our beaches at risk?" wrote one.
And while Mike Anderson-Reade, deputy chief executive of the Natal Sharks Board, does not want to be drawn into the debate, he made his feelings on the practice of "chumming" very clear.
"If we spotted anyone chumming off our beaches (in KwaZulu-Natal), we would take action. We would immediately intervene to stop this from happening. Sharks will always return to an area where they have previously found food.
"If there is no food they will move on. Certainly we would advise against chumming. If stimulation (pouring the mixture into the water) takes place close to beaches where people swim, it would increase the likelihood of interaction between the sharks and swimmers. Chumming remains helluva controversial," he said.
Last year furious residents of Fish Hoek called Weekend Argus to complain about a shark tour operator pouring chum into the sea behind the waves off the beach. Two large sharks were spotted near the boat.
'If there is no food they will move on' When locals approached the operator he said he had a tour operator licence and they could not stop him.
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