As Discovery Channel launches its Shark Week special on 11 July, Cayman’s local shark expert Johanna Kohler will be marking the annual event as she puts the spotlight on this apex predator.
Kohler, who will be making a presentation at the Cayman Islands Brewery on 11 July on local shark conservation efforts, said she has noted a change in the community’s attitude towards sharks, which are protected in Cayman under the National Conservation Act.
“I have seen a change over the past 7 years in our community. More and more of our people know about the ecological and socio-economic importance of sharks to our islands. I’m especially delighted to see so many of our children being little shark experts.
“Now, many people do understand and appreciate the role of sharks in our ocean,” she said in an emailed comment to the Cayman Compass.
Kohler, Department of Environment shark project officer, said there is a community effort to protect the shark population with the majority of the local fishing community helping to conserve those creatures by releasing any accidentally caught and reporting their sightings.
She added that the diving community helps monitor the shark population through the DoE’s Sharklogger Network.
To mark Shark Week, Kohler and the DoE will once again team up with Caybrew, a long-time supporter of shark research.
“CayBrew has approached us with the idea of holding a shark fundraiser for the first day of ‘Shark Week’ to help raise more funds… for our shark research,” she said.
Kohler previewed her upcoming presentation.
“I will showcase what we, the DoE, have achieved over the past 14 years with the help of the money raised by White Tip. I’ll share shark facts revealed by the DoE’s shark research, including findings from the Sharklogger Network (our citizen science programme involving the local diving community) and DeepSee Cayman (our most recent deep-sea research),” she added.
$200K and counting
Mark Harding, Caybrew sales and marketing coordinator, in an emailed comment to the Compass, said that in 2008, the DoE, in collaboration with Marine Conservation International, was about to start their crucial shark research programme, but the project was in need of additional funding.
“Deeply inspired by their cause, Caybrew decided to take action. Our aim was to both raise awareness of these beautiful creatures, and lend our support by donating to local conservation projects. This is when we proudly launched White Tip lager,” he said.
Harding said over the past 12 years, the brewery has raised more than $200,000 by donating a portion of White Tip sales to shark research and conservation efforts in Cayman.
With the help of those funds, Kohler said, over the last decade the DoE has developed a good understanding of the local shark population on top of the coastal shelf, as they continue to monitor them and explore which sharks are at depths down to 2,000 metres.
She stressed that sharks are protected, saying, “it is prohibited to catch, take, kill or harass sharks in any form within coastal and offshore waters”, adding that fishing gear remains an issue and “accidental catch of sharks still occurs”.
Changing the public perception of sharks remains the biggest challenge in shark conservation, she noted, adding that is why it is important to continue outreach efforts including public talks, school presentations and public events.
The Shark Week event will begin at 6pm at the Cayman Islands Brewery taproom, where a specially created White Tip Radler beer will be sold, but space is limited, according to organisers.
For more information on sharks and how to protect them, visit the DoE website.
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