Cape Town authorities were considering on Tuesday night whether to launch a hunt for the great white shark that killed an elderly woman off a Cape Town beach — the second attack on swimmers in the area this year.
They were also debating whether to stop tourists feeding sharks, a practice that may have encouraged the animals to linger in the waters.
This followed the death of Tyna Webb (77) who was attacked by a great white on Monday at Sunny Cove beach in the suburb of Fish Hoek. Webb had been taking an early morning swim, which she had enjoyed daily, in summer and winter, for the past 17 years.
Brian de Jager, a friend of Webb’s and one of the 15 local people who witnessed the attack, told The Guardian: ”I took my usual walk and I saw Tyna swimming. The next minute I saw this fin coming through the water and then the discolouration in the water. It was so quick, it all took place in only 30 seconds.”
A red swimming cap was all that was found, despite a sea and air search.
Other witnesses said the shark had been six metres long and circled Webb before attacking.
Craig Lambinon, a spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute, said crews later spotted the shark from the air. ”The shark is bigger than the helicopter … it is huge,” he told the South African Press Association.
Clive Wakeford, the president of the Fish Hoek Lifesaving Club, said some of Webb’s remains would eventually wash up. ”It’s unwise to swim that far out, especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon,” he said.
De Jager, the assistant manager of Sunny Cove Manor, a guesthouse near the beach, said: ”It’s difficult to know what to do about the sharks. There is a great deal of divided opinion. Some people say put up shark nets, but that is very invasive and badly affects other marine life.
”Others say that chumming [throwing fish entrails into the sea] to attract sharks for tourist boats should be stopped because they say that brings sharks closer to swimming areas. But scientists say that is not the cause of the problem.”
He suggested that buoys emitting frequencies that annoy sharks could be placed around swimming areas.
A 16-year-old surfer lost his right leg in an attack by a great white earlier this year, about 3km from Fish Hoek. – Guardian Unlimited Â