Poachers set sights on great whites
October 17, 2003 Edition -1
Melanie Gosling
Perlemoen poachers, faced with declining stocks of the lucrative shellfish, are now targeting another protected species.
Conservation officials yesterday said the poachers are killing great white sharks and selling their jaws and teeth to foreign tourists for high prices. The killing and sale of sharks is illegal in South Africa.
Michael Scholl, a Swiss shark researcher based at Gansbaai on the Cape south coast, said he had been offered a single great white shark tooth in the Western Cape town for $100 (R700).
"It's very worrying, because the international trade is still legal. A big white shark jaw can fetch up to $10 000 in the US," Scholl said.
Yesterday, a group of law enforcement officers got warrants to search two curio shops in Hermanus and confiscated great white shark teeth that had been made into jewellery.
Craig Spencer, head of conservation at the Overstrand municipality, said he had received information that a group of perlemoen poachers in Hawston, and another group in Gansbaai, had turned to great whites as another lucrative source of income.
"We haven't got any evidence of white sharks being killed, but white shark teeth are being sold right here under our noses and they come from somewhere. This is the first crackdown we've had on selling them."
Jeff Tanner, the owner of the shops, said he did not know it was illegal to sell the teeth. He received a R500 admission-of-guilt fine.
