1. 58 A F R I C A G E O G R A P H I C M A R C H 2 0 1 2
Encounters with sharks at sea
are either tightly controlled
affairs in cages or chance (and
usually frightening) incidents, right?
Wrong. In the kelp forests off Miller’s
Point in the Cape, divers have been
swimming with bizarre-looking
sevengill sharks for years. The bold,
inquisitive character of sevengills
makes a natural encounter with
them almost de rigeur and yet, as
Cheryl-Samantha Owen discovers,
these prehistoric predators remain
as mysterious as ever.
TEXT BY CHERYL-SAMANTHA OWEN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY THOMAS P. PESCHAK
59W W W. A F R I C A G E O G R A P H I C . C O M
in the kingdom of
sevengills
ᮣ

2. 60 A F R I C A G E O G R A P H I C M A R C H 2 0 1 2 61W W W. A F R I C A G E O G R A P H I C . C O M
UDZUNGWA MOUNTAINS
D
ivers off South Africa’s
Western Cape coast could
be forgiven for thinking
that they share their
ocean with an unidenti-
fied monster of the deep
or some shape-shifting alien species.
Swimming through forests of giant kelp,
they sometimes glimpse shadows flicker-
ing through the dancing fronds or dis-
cover fragments of bone and flesh on the
reef, sinister signs that a predator has
been at work. More often than not visib-
ility in these waters is a claustrophobic
three metres, and the murky soup can
send the imagination into overdrive.
But I have never found any paranor-
mal creatures or Spielberg monsters here;
instead the goblin in these kelp forests is
the broadnose sevengill shark, which is
as weird and wonderful as any celluloid
creation. Furthermore, its presence is
almost guaranteed at certain dive sites
year round, and it is not shy of visitors.
O
n a sunny, calm day when the sea
is so flat that the sapphire-blue
African sky sparkles on the water’s
surface and the protrusions of granite rock
shimmer with muscovite mica, Miller’s
Point, situated within the no-take zone of
Table Mountain Marine Protected Area,
looks awash with jewels. Dense crowns of
bamboo kelp bob at the surface, providing
the only clue to what lies beneath. I find
this place utterly irresistible and, though
the water temperature regularly plummets
below 9 °C, I come here often, pulling on
mask and fins, taking a deep breath and
slipping underwater.
Beneath the canopy, kelp stems or stipes
up to 15 metres long are anchored to the
rocky reef by root-like fasteners. Designed
to withstand the Cape’s punishing seas,
they bend and flex in the current but are
no match for the particularly fierce storms
that uproot the kelp and toss it ashore.
This dynamic energy combined with the
cold Benguela Current, which rushes north
along South Africa’s west coast, creates
water so rich in nutrients that it can sup-
port an abundance of life far greater than
that found in Africa’s warmer seas.
Welcome to the magical kingdom of
kelp, where there are more bizarre char-
acters than in a Hollywood theme park,
and where the evolutionary age of some
inhabitants exceeds 400 million years.
The seabed here is alive, crawling with
multi-armed creatures and coated in daz-
zling seaweeds, sponges and coralline
crusts. Deep within this undersea jungle,
armies of sea urchins patrol and rock
lobsters poke feelers out of fissures in
large rocky outcrops. Isolated rays of
sunlight penetrate the kelp forest canopy,
slicing through the ethereal green glow
to illuminate passing red roman and
other rare fish.
I break away from the kelp and hover
above a sunlit sandy gully, a cathedral-
like space enshrined by the forest. In sec-
onds the guardians of the ecosystem
emerge. Confident and bold, several
swim directly towards me and soon I am
among them.
Later, I leave the water, having come
nose-to-nose with 10 sevengills (other
divers have seen twice this number on a
single outing). Although they range from
East London to Namibia, Miller’s Point
has been identified as an aggregation
site, a place inhabited by a number of
sevengills throughout the year. Close to
shore and easily accessible, this secret
spot has been frequented by local divers
for decades, but it was only in 2008 that
marine biologists attempted to uncover
the mysterious lives of its sharks.
SEVENGILLS
Miller’s
Point
12 km
N
!"
CAPE
PENINSULA
Simon’s Town
Take the plunge
Location Pyramid Rock, Miller’s Point,
False Bay, Simon’s Town
Qualifications required An Open-Water
One diving certificate is a prerequisite.
Season Year round
Average depth of the dive 6–12 m
Water temperature 10–20 °C
Water visibility 2–20 m
Operators Animal Ocean www.animal
ocean.co.za and Shark Explorers www.
sharkexplorers.com
A small note: although it can be tempt-
ing to reach out, sevengills do not like
being touched. Hundreds of people dive
with them each year without incident,
but they can bite if provoked or threat-
ened. Only five unprovoked attacks
have ever been officially documented,
and harassed sevengills may leave the
area altogether.
OPPOSITE Red roman,a fish endemic to southern
Africa,thrives in the formally protected kelp forests
off Miller’s Point.Elsewhere in False Bay,overfishing
has decimated resident populations to the extent
that they have almost disappeared.
PREVIOUS SPREAD Dark and mysterious,yet
shrouded in a constant ethereal glow,the kelp forests
of the Atlantic offer close encounters of another kind
with one of the marine world’s apex predators.
FA L S E B AY
( AT L A N T I C
O C E A N )
Benguela
Current
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4. 64 A F R I C A G E O G R A P H I C M A R C H 2 0 1 2 65W W W. A F R I C A G E O G R A P H I C . C O M
identify individual sharks by their natural
markings, which include the white-and-
black spot pattern on their dorsal surface,
scarring and notches on their fins (they
have a single dorsal fin situated far back
on the body). Thus far, 587 individual
sharks have been identified. This photo-
identification technique has been used
successfully to study the population
dynamics of a wide range of other
species, including ragged-tooth, whale,
tiger and great white sharks.
A
sevengill can live for 50 years, a
similar longevity to elephants, and
produce the largest litter of any
shark, with up to 82 pups. ‘Few pregnant
females have been identified in the
Western Cape and pupping grounds are
not known,’ says Alison Kock, a marine
scientist affiliated with UCT. ‘However, a
preliminary study at Miller’s Point identi-
fied two pregnant females in the area dur-
ing a single dive. Numerous large females,
over two metres in length, were observed
on six dives, suggesting that the area may
be a pupping ground.’ Kock stresses that
further research is needed to confirm
these observations.
It is unknown how many pups survive
to adulthood. The shark’s year-long gesta-
tion period combined with its late age of
maturity make the species extremely vul-
nerable to overfishing and the population
is already under threat from uncontrolled
fishing in South Africa. Commercial
handline and deep-water longline fisher-
ies target the sharks for their meat, skin
and liver oil, and their hefty weight
makes them a prize catch for recreational
anglers.
In the past, sevengills were caught spe-
cifically for their livers, which were used
by unscrupulous shark-cage diving oper-
ators to attract great whites to their boats.
In the interests of shark conservation and
ethical ecotourism, the code of conduct
for cage-diving operators was recently
amended to include a ban on the use of
all shark products. The onus is now on
the Department of Environmental Affairs
(DEA) to ensure that this prohibition is
written into legislation.
Most of the sevengills I’ve seen are cov-
ered in bites and scars, but these are
indicative of social interaction among
sharks. Much more worrying is the large
number that sport fishing hooks, gear
traces and trails of monofilament fishing
lines. With the accuracy of recorded
catches per year questionable, scientists
are in a scramble to learn all they can
about the population in order to better
inform the DEA, which in turn can step
up protective regulations.
Steve Benjamin of the dive operation
Animal Ocean has logged many hours
with the sharks. He believes that ‘their
inshore distribution, dominant nature
and tendency to aggregate make them
particularly vulnerable to fishermen’. For
ecotourism, however, these qualities are
an advantage.
The sevengill is a strange-looking ani-
mal, with a stout, broad head, a skeleton
that resembles its ancient (extinct) shark
ancestor and two additional gill slits.
Almost all sharks living today have only
five gill slits, and it appears the sevengill’s
extra set is a quirk of evolutionary history.
According to Robert Raw, a Master’s stu-
dent at the University of Cape Town
(UCT), ‘The sharks may have needed extra
gills due to the lower oxygen levels in the
oceans of ancient times.’
In fact sevengill sharks look prehistoric
and diving with them in one of the earth’s
most productive and dynamic ecosystems
is, I imagine, as close to swimming in the
Devonian ocean, the epoch in which they
first emerged, as you can get.
So little is known about this species
that it is listed as Data Deficient across
the globe, apart from in the eastern
Pacific where it is classified as ‘Near-
Threatened’. It is commonly found in
shallow bays and rocky reef habitats,
such as this location in False Bay, but it
is known to swim at depths of up to
570 metres and, like many shark species,
is a great ocean wanderer. One adult was
recorded travelling 539 kilometres off the
South African coast, but scientists are
clueless as to sevengills’ exact home
range, residency patterns and long-range
movements in South Africa.
In order to piece together this informa-
tion, researchers from UCT have begun to
create a database of photographs that
CONTRIBUTE YOUR PHOTOS
If you’re a budding underwater photo-
grapher and want to contribute to the
University of Cape Town’s database,
keep these pointers in mind:
• Take photographs from directly above
the shark, perpendicular to the central
point of the dorsal surface.
• Record the date and location of the
photographs.
• Record details of the type of camera
and lens used.
• Submit only high-resolution, in-focus
images.
Send your photographs to
shark.research@gmail.com
SEVENGILLS
ᮣ
ABOVE Diving with sevengill sharks is without doubt
one of the best shark dives on the planet.With
naturally bold and curious personalities,sevengills
swim virtually eye-to-eye with divers.
OPPOSITE Puffadder shysharks are classified as Near-
Threatened by the IUCN Red List.Although they are
completely harmless,they are commonly caught as
bycatch by fishermen,discarded and left to die.
PREVIOUS SPREAD Though it may not perform the
spectacular airborne breaches for which its cousin,the
great white,is known,the sevengill deserves the same
protection.Little is known about these majestic
creatures and the race is on to find out why they
aggregate in such huge numbers in a very specific
area off Miller’s Point.Dive 20 metres away from‘their
spot’and you won’t have a clue that they lurk a few
kelp fronds away.

5. 66 A F R I C A G E O G R A P H I C M A R C H 2 0 1 2 67W W W. A F R I C A G E O G R A P H I C . C O M
‘The aggregation of these sharks within
Castle Rock Restricted Zone should be
highly regarded by South African divers
as a valuable and unique ecotourism
attraction,’ says Benjamin. Indeed, there
are very few locations outside a cage or
an aquarium where you are virtually
guaranteed a dive with sharks throughout
the year.
What’s more, you don’t need to use
bait or chum to see them. We are foreign
to the sharks’ ecosystem and most species
are generally very wary of us, which
explains the need to release a pungent
brew of fish oils into the water to attract
them. The curious and confident nature
of sevengills presents a rare opportunity
to observe an apex predator in its natural
environment, undisturbed bar the pres-
ence of divers.
A
s rulers of their kingdom, sevengills
shape the entire structure of life
below them. They grow to a record-
ed maximum of three metres and are a
formidable predator of other sharks, rays,
seals, dolphins and bony fish. In South
Africa they are known to target at least
13 of the 17 common shark species; in the
Cape, pyjama shark or striped catshark,
houndshark and leopard catshark com-
prise their most abundant prey. One study
even classified sevengills above great
white sharks in the food chain, despite the
fact that great whites are potential pred-
ators of their slightly smaller relations.
Perfectly adapted to life as a predator,
the shark is camouflaged from above by a
silver-grey to brownish body that match-
es dark ocean water, while the lightly
coloured underside blends in with the
bright, sunlit ocean surface. The species
employs a number of methods of captur-
ing prey, and there are also reports of can-
nibalism among them.
One strategy is to hunt in packs, com-
municating and coordinating attacks on
marine mammals, such as the South
African fur seals and Cape clawless otters
that seek refuge from great whites in the
kelp forests. Another tactic used by seven-
gills is to sneak up on prey from behind
using the element of surprise. (I always
find this a comforting thought when I’m
underwater and the sevengills are swim-
ming towards me at speed!)
V
ery few diving experiences match
the thrill of being in such close
proximity to a top predator, but
it is often their prey – the endemic puff-
adder shyshark, pyjama shark and leo-
pard catshark, to name a few – that keeps
me underwater longer. On every dive,
these little sharks swirl through the kelp
in such variegated colours and patterns
AG
that you begin to wonder whether you
saw anything at all.
The puffadder shyshark is small and
harmless – its distinct reddish-brown dor-
sal saddles, patterned with small white
dots, are all it has in common with its
venomous reptilian namesake. This pale,
wriggling fish can be conspicuous against
the dark bedrock and one study found it
to be a target for inquisitive juvenile
South African fur seals. (Their games of
‘toss the shyshark’, however, usually end
when an opportunistic black-backed gull
makes off with the spoils.)
The leopard catshark, named for the
rosettes coating its body, also exhibits
two other colour morphs, but factors
influencing the variation in patterns are
unknown. Perhaps what endears me
most to the catsharks and shysharks is
the way they curl inward, like the plastic
fortune-telling fish inside party crackers,
when they feel threatened. This defens-
ive posture is the complete opposite to
the stereotypical image of a shark, and so
clearly illustrates the fact that of the
approximately 1100 shark species world-
wide, only about five present any real
danger to humans.
We, of course, are far more deadly to
them. In addition to the challenges
posed by climate change and rising sea
temperatures, humans kill 73 million
sharks each year. Sharks and rays are
particularly vulnerable to overfishing
because they tend to grow slowly,
mature late and produce relatively few
young. Since the 1950s, the populations
of many species have been reduced by
90 per cent.
Of the 100 different shark species found
in South African waters, only great whites,
whale sharks and basking sharks are fully
protected, while raggies and spotted gully
sharks are safeguarded from commercial
fishermen (recreational fishers may still
catch them). The rest – including the
country’s nine endemic species (see ‘spe-
cial sharks’, opposite) – are exploited
without respite.
Whether or not the Cape’s rich waters
will continue to flourish and provide a
unique paradise for sharks remains uncer-
tain. Perhaps it’s unrealistic to wish that
every last shark could be saved, but for
the sake of the sevengills and all the
inhabitants of their kelp kingdom,
shouldn’t we be trying a little harder?
SEVENGILLS
ABOVE The pyjama shyshark is another endemic
shark species in the waters off South Africa.Shy
by nature and posture,when threatened the
shyshark curls into a ring with its tail covering
its eyes.Unfortunately this does not save it from
recreational fishermen persecuting it as a pest.
OPPOSITE Fresh bite marks and scars cover the
bodies of sevengills,indicating that this aggregation
site could be a mating area.
SPECIAL SHARKS
South Africa hosts nine shark species
that are not found anywhere else in the
world. Most are listed as Vulnerable or
Threatened with extinction on the IUCN
Red List, and yet they continue to be
caught by commercial and recreational
fisheries. Without protection, their demise
is inevitable.
puffadder shyshark or happy Eddie
Haploblepharus edwardsii leopard
catshark Poroderma pantherinum
pyjama shark or striped catshark Poro-
derma africanum brown shyshark
Haploblepharus fuscus Natal shyshark
or happy chappie Haploblepharus kistnas-
mamyi flapnose houndshark Scyllio-
galeus quecketti whitetip weasel shark
Paragaleus leucolomatus white-spotted
smoothhound shark Mustelus palumbes
Saldanha catshark Apristurus saldanha
Fast facts
Broadnose sevengill
shark Notorynchus
cepedianus
Also known as Cowshark, spotted
cowshark, bluntnose sevengill shark,
broad-snouted sevengill, ground shark,
Pacific sevengill shark, Tasmanian
tiger shark.
Length Grows to 3 m
Weight 107 kg
Coloration Grey or brownish with spots.
Diet Other sharks, rays, fish, seals and
carrion.
Life cycle Ovoviviparous (bearing
live young), produces litters of up to
82 pups.
Habitat Inshore marine ecosystems,
kelp forests, shallow bays, rocky reefs.
Lifespan 50 years
Status IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species: Data Deficient globally and
Near-Threatened in the eastern Pacific.
Distribution Occurs in all oceans bar
the north Atlantic and the Mediterra-
nean Sea. In South Africa, found from
East London to Namibia.