This Saturday, December 11th, marks the first annual bronze whaler shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus) catch and release angling competition at Macassar/Strandfontein beach in False Bay. SASC and Save Our Seas (SOS) have been asked by Two Oceans Angling Club (organisers of the event) to be a part of the competition where we will be collecting data on the sharks and monitoring catch practices.

The purpose of participating in said event is threefold:

1) to collect biological, genetic and population dynamics data on bronze whaler sharks to inform species-specific conservation and management measures in South Africa and internationally;
2) to engage in a public forum with recreational shark anglers and promote cooperation and collaboration between primary resource users and the research and conservation communities;
3) to monitor shark angling ethics (e.g., handling, fishing methods) to better inform primary resource users and the scientific community at large on best-industry practices to mitigate and eliminate harmful (or perceived harmful) angling practices.