SEDGEFIELD NEWS - For the first time in three years, a whale shark has washed up on the Garden Route coast, this time washing ashore in Sedgefield.
According to Garden Route National Park marine wilderness section ranger Jonathan Britton, the whale shark was first discovered between the Swartveli mouth and Myoli Beach where it was swept out to sea again by a strong swell at the spring tide, but not before it washed ashore at Cola Beach again.
Many thought it was different whale shark, but Britton confirmed that it was only one, and that it now lies between Cola Beach and Platbank.
The discovery of the whale shark came as a shock to many a Sedgefield resident as it is extremely rare for a whale shark to be found in the cold waters off the Garden Route coastline.
According to Nelson Mandela University post-doctoral researcher Dr Gwen Penry, this is so rare in fact, that to her knowledge, it is the first time that one has washed up on the Garden Route since 2016 when a whale shark washed up in Knysna.
"What we think happens to the whale sharks is that they get caught in the strong Agulhas current on the East Coast," she said. "This then brings them down to the colder waters off the South Coast, where they are unable to function."
According to Penry a whale shark's body is believed to be unable to function in waters with temperatures lower than 17 degrees Celsius, a figure which is all too common in the waters along the Garden Route and South Coast regions. "Once they get caught in the cold waters and their bodies begin to shut down, they swim in-shore in search of warmer waters," Penry said.
She also pointed out that while there haven't been any washing up along the Garden Route, there were two that washed up in Cape Town last month. "Whale sharks tend to wash up on the South African coastline more than anywhere else in the world due to the strong offshore currents we have," she said. "The cold waters then render their bodies incapable of functioning properly, which is when they begin to shut down."
NMU researcher, Dr Gwen Penry says it is extremely rare to find these whale sharks in the cold waters of the Garden Route coastline.
The cold waters then render their bodies incapable of functioning properly.
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