Shark alert!

If you are thinking of taking a quick dip in Port Shepstone’s Mzimkhulu River, think again, a Zambezi shark has been spotted by locals recently.

So what raised the issue this time? Well-known fisherman, Ian Logie was fishing off his boat at Spillers Wharf last Sunday. He anchored off at Spillers and noticed big mullets jumping and Egyptian geese performing.

“I turned to my left and saw this huge shark. I saw the dorsal fins come out off the water. I tried to spot it again but it disappeared.”

Logie then called Mark Lawlor who conducts kayak trips on the river. Strangely enough, Mark told Ian that he had seen a shark feeding during low tide last week.

“Whether it was the same shark or not we don’t know. We are not sure whether this shark has become resident because of the abundance of fish in the river after the floods, as the river mouth has opened quite wide. So, plenty of fish are coming into the river, it seems to be a lot deeper and much healthier than it used to be,” said Logie.

He added that the bend at Royston’s on the Mzimkhulu measured about nine metres deep.

Resident caretaker at Spillers for the past 15 years, Maruis Aucamp said he had seen the shark two weeks ago. He had thrown a net into the river and soon afterwards noticed the shark. “It was an incredible sight and then it disappeared. During the past two weeks I have seen this shark about four times. It was definitely feeding in the shallows during low tide,” he added.

Mark Lawlor was kayaking on the river last Wednesday and the tide was quite low. “I thought I saw two Egyptian geese in the water, waited for them to get out, then all of a sudden they disappeared. I think it was the two dorsal fins that lifted about two metres off the water. It was in shallow water and it was about 11:00. I will still go out kayaking and obviously be more cautious. I have heard of previous sightings of Zambezi sharks in the river,” said Lawlor.

He pointed out that in his opinion the Zambezi was unlikely to attack a person. “Hundreds of people fish in the ocean daily off kayaks and haven’t been attacked,” he said.

In 2014 Marc Lange and his daughter Tayla were paddling up the river when they saw a dead fish floating in the water. Marc scooped the fish out and saw that it had been cleanly bitten in two. It is believed that anglers said that something big had taken the fish and snapped the line.

Another fisherman who often fishes at ‘The ‘Block’ said he had hooked a kingfish at Sandspit in 2013. He only managed to pull out half a fish. He stated he had spotted two Zambezis off The Block.

The KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board has reported that the Zambezi shark is large, robust bodied with a blunt snout. It is easily confused with the Java shark. The two can best be distinguished by the relative height of their dorsal fins.

Distribution
It inhabits the warm, nearshore waters of Mozambique and KwaZulu-Natal; rarely enters Cape waters. It may be found in many large rivers and lakes far from the sea; estuaries such as St. Lucia and Richards Bay form nursery grounds for the juveniles.

Behaviour
It is extremely dangerous and is responsible for many shallow water attacks. It is one of the few sharks able to survive for long periods in fresh and muddy waters. This slow-moving shark adapts very well in captivity. Elsewhere in the world this species is known as the bull shark (USA) and the whaler (Australia).

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