Sara Andreotti has devoted her academic career and leisure time to the study and conservation of great white sharks. Her PhD findings were the subject of much media attention which revealed that only 426 white sharks could be catalogued on the South African coastline. Andreotti has since been actively involved in the development and implementation of The SharkSafe Barrier, an eco-friendly alternative to shark nets and drum lines.
Dr Sara Andreotti’s love for the ocean started during her childhood in Italy. The ocean’s tranquillity and flora and fauna are what initially attracted her to marine biology, she says.
“The water itself is hiding a lot more than what we can see with the naked eye. I love seeing the plankton and how alive it is and how the weather can change its form,” says dr Andreotti.
During her studies at the University of Trieste, she became involved with a non-profit organisation, Posidonia, as a scientific collaborator. The organisation frequented trips to South Africa to study white sharks from cage diving boats.
Shark fascination
It was on a trip in 2007 with Posidonia that she met Michael Rutzen, world-renown conservationist and specialist in white shark behaviour, Andreotti recalls.
“I was fascinated by the body language work and how these animals can communicate with each other and humans,” she says.
The lack of solid, scientific work done on sharks and the fact that people disliked them based on principle “got me hooked”, says Andreotti.
“We know so little about [sharks] and a lot of what people think they know is based on urban legend,” she says.
In 2009, Andreotti returned to South Africa to further her research and create a database of white sharks based on their dorsal fins. She says that whilst living in Gansbaai, she would be on Rutzen’s cage diving boat every day to collect data.
“For the first three years, if the boat was launching, I was on it. That’s where I got close to 5000 photos,” she says.
This research then evolved into Andreotti’s PhD at Stellenbosch University (SU) and Rutzen’s company, Shark Diving Unlimited, sponsored the pair a catamaran to extend their research from Gansbaai to the rest of the South African coastline.
“Once [Rutzen] had the bigger boat, we would sail around the coast and put the anchor down where the sea was calm and collect samples and then move once the wind picked up,” says Andreotti.
“Took the world by surprise”
After six years of fieldwork and publishing the white shark’s population estimate, Andreotti says the research was met with sadness and surprise.
“When our research estimated about 500 sharks left for the entire coastline, the reaction was almost as if we took the world by surprise because no one was expecting such low numbers,” says Andreotti.
The method and thoroughness of the research made the results difficult to dispute, says Andreotti.
“The fact that we published using a combination of photo identification and genetics to ensure the positive identification of each shark plus a good peer review process, it cast little doubt on the quality of the work,” she says.
Rutzen says that he knew shark populations were in jeopardy and that no one was paying attention.
“Sara did the work excellently. She’s got the biggest database, at least in Africa at the moment. She proved that the populations were declining and going extinct,” says Rutzen.
Since publishing the white shark population estimates, little has been done to further protect the species, says Andreotti.
“Shark nets and drum lines are still in the water. The province of KwaZulu-Natal hasn’t changed their ways whatsoever, they have permission from the Department of Environmental Affairs to cull sharks legally,” she says.
Also, there is no real monitoring of fishing vessels to see what happens if they catch a white shark, says Andreotti.
“These animals cannot get rid of their lactic acid after an act like that, so they often die due to stress,” she explains.
The SharkSafe Barrier is born
The idea for the SharkSafe Barrier was developed following the results of the population estimation, says Professor Conrad Matthee, the head of the department of botany and zoology at SU, Andreotti’s PhD supervisor and one of the inventors of the SharkSafe product.
“The genetics indicated that the sharks really need to be conserved, we really need to get rid of shark nets and then we decided to design a mechanism that can help with this and shark safe was born,” says Matthee.
The conceptualisation of the product was initially done by Mike and Sara in terms of kelp forest biomimicry, Matthee recalls.
According to the SharkSafe website, the product mimics a thick kelp forest which is recognised by white sharks as a natural barrier. Within the barrier, are long flexible tubes which contain magnets which emit a constant magnetic field.
This magnetic field overwhelms the sharks six sense, known as the Ampullae of Lorenzi which acts as a strong deterrent, the SharkSafe website states.
“They knew that sharks don’t go into kelp forests so they decided to build something that looks like a kelp forest,” he says.
The product has been tested since 2012 and is unique because it’s the only one available that is shark specific, according to Matthee.
“There are other products that keep sharks out, but also keep other marine life out. Ours is shark specific, its robust and it works,” he says.
The product is something that lies close to the heart of Anita Nel, the CEO of the Innovation Agency of the University of Stellenbosch (INNOVUS) and director on the SharkSafe Barrier board.
“It’s not a purely commercial venture, there’s the very good aspect of it, the fact that it saves so much marine life and is a replacement for a practice that isn’t good for sea life,” says Nel.
People are taking far more notice of the product, according to Nel.
“We can see the interest in this, especially in La Reunion where we now have a demo site. I think it’s just a matter of time before we have a true breakthrough,” says Nel.
This year has been about getting SharkSafe out there more by starting a monthly newsletter and organising webinars, Andreotti says.
“I spend a lot more time now behind the computer than at sea. We’re at the stage now where we’re trying to get the word out there and get people behind it,” she says.
Following her passion
Changing people’s perceptions about sharks is a start towards creating more awareness about conservation, according to Andreotti.
“Getting people to see them differently will spark some people from government to change their policies. A slow movement in the right direction is better than no movement,” she says.
The ultimate goal would be to get shark nets and drum lines out the water, says Andreotti.
“If SharkSafe will be the tool to achieve that, then I want SharkSafe to be the standard for beach protection,” she says.
As she reflects on her career, Andreotti says that because her work allows her to scuba dive and conduct research, it is both personally and professionally fulfilling.
“I’m doing what I love. Regardless of moving countries, changing languages, driving on the opposite side of the road, leaving my family and friends in Italy to rebuild here,” she says. “If I had to go back in time, I would do it again.”