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A new $170 million resort in South Africa is embroiled in a dispute over how to prevent its guests from being attacked by sharks.
Marine scientists have lodged a complaint about the possible use of beachfront shark nets by the country’s first Club Med resort, located north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province on the east coast.
Experts said the nets would kill large numbers of sharks, as well as dolphins, rays, turtles and birds, Bloomberg reported.
Sharks, including great whites, are an important part of South Africa’s marine ecosystem, but local authorities have failed to find a solution that protects both swimmers and wildlife.
Between 2012 and 2021, there were six fatal shark attacks in the country, while 23 non-fatal bites were recorded, according to the International Shark Attack File, affiliated with the Florida Museum in the US.
Scientists argue that nets are an outdated method that entangles and kills sharks, rather than acting as a barrier.
They say they have offered alternatives, such as using drones to help shark watchers, but they were “outright ruled out.”
Ryan Daly, a scientist at the Durban-based Institute of Oceanographic Research, helped write an assessment of the nets’ impact on the site.
He asked: “Why don’t they consider modern practices used in places like Australia, where lifeguards use drones to monitor dangerous rip currents and look for sharks?”
The Indian Ocean beach next to the new Club Med Tinley Manor is public but is expected to be used by up to 1,000 guests a day when the resort opens later this year.
The KwaDukuza Municipality will have the final say on installing mosquito nets and said a decision has not yet been made.
“We rely on the transparent and science-based process being carried out by the relevant authorities and independent experts to determine the most balanced and responsible solution, and to provide safe swimming not only to local travelers but also to international travelers visiting the country,” Club Med, the French tourism company, said in a statement.
“The commitment is to prioritize both public safety and marine conservation: protecting people and protecting the environment are inseparable responsibilities.”
Enrico Gennari, director of the Ocean Research Institute in Mossel Bay, said no protection method, be it nets, observers or drones, was completely effective.
While drones are effective at detecting great white sharks and tiger sharks, they are less reliable at detecting deep-swimming bull sharks.
However, he said the nets were harming marine life.
“Are they dangerous? Yes, because they are designed to be dangerous,” Gennari said. “They are designed to kill sharks and unintentionally kill other marine species.”
Scientists said that in 2025 alone, similar nets and lines killed 416 sharks off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
Shark Strategies Vary
Different regions of the country have followed different strategies to deal with sharks.
While KwaZulu-Natal has used nets, at other major tourist beaches, such as Muizenberg in Cape Town or Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route, swimmers rely on shark spotters.
Spotters scan beach waters and alert swimmers when a shark approaches.
The six fatal attacks in South Africa between 2012 and 2021 compare with 20 fatal attacks in Australia during the same period, three in Hawaii and eight near Réunion, an island off the east coast of Africa.
Worldwide, 60 people have died from the fish. Great white, tiger and bull sharks are the most dangerous species.
Conservationists say such low numbers illustrate that sharks pose little threat to humans and have been unfairly demonized.
“Sharks are found in all the world’s oceans, but shark attacks are extremely rare,” says the World Wildlife Fund. “In fact, you are more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a shark.”
The Telegraph, London
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