Thesis Sci 2020 Sheridan Katherine
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Human Safety and Shark Conservation: An Analysis of Surfer Risk Perceptions and Attitudes towards Shark Management Katherine Sheridan 10th February 2020 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Conservation Biology by coursework and dissertation Supervisors: Professor Justin O’Riain, Professor Mark Needham Universityand Professor of Nicoli Cape Nattrass Town Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, Department of Biological Sciences University of Cape Town Rondebosch, 7701 South AfricaEmail: [email protected] i The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town Plagiarism Declaration 1. I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is using another’s work and to pretend that it is one’s own. 2. I have used the Conservation Biology Journal format as the convention for citation and referencing. Each significant contribution to, and quotation in, this project from the work, or works of other people has been attributed, cited and referenced. 3. This project is my own work. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work. 4. I acknowledge that copying someone else’s assignment or essay, or part of it, is wrong, and declare that this is my own work. Signed: Date: 10/02/2020 ii Acknowledgements I would like to extend great thanks to my supervisor Justin O’Riain for his helpful and detailed feedback, and his interest in my study and progress throughout. I am extremely grateful to Mark Needham for his tireless support and help at every stage of the project, for his expert advice in guiding me through the process of social science, and for finding the time to help me regardless of what I was stuck on. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor, Nicoli Nattrass for her feedback and help. I am also grateful to Sarah Waries and Tammy Engelbrecht from the Shark Spotters for ensuring I was asking the right questions, and for their advice when conducting the surveys at Muizenberg beach. I would like to thank my wonderful parents for their unwavering support, both emotionally and financially, for without them none of this would have been possible. Thank you to Susie Cunningham for answering all my formatting questions and for her guidance and reassurance throughout the course. I am forever grateful to Hillary Buchanan for always answering my questions, no matter how small, and for helping visa and housing issues. I would also like to acknowledge the Conservation Biology class of 2019 and FitzPatrick tea regulars, with a particular mention to Kate Gardner and Ceci Cerrilla; thank you for your friendship, endless moral support and for keeping my spirits up throughout the year. Finally, many thanks to Ciara O’Connor, Dan Jones, Dannie Harris, Becky Bond and Anna Sheridan for your encouragement, support, and help this year and always. iii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2 1.1 Human-Wildlife Conflict ................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Risk perception ................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 History of human-shark conflict ........................................................................................ 3 1.4 Public perception of sharks ............................................................................................... 4 1.5 Influences on shark perception and shark risk perception ................................................ 6 1.6 Shark management ........................................................................................................... 8 1.6.1 Lethal policies .......................................................................................................................................8 1.6.2 Non-lethal policies ...............................................................................................................................11 1.6.3 Perception of shark management .........................................................................................................13 1.7 Shark Behaviour ............................................................................................................. 13 1.7.1 Spatial ecology of white sharks ...........................................................................................................14 1.7.2 Spatial ecology of bull and tiger sharks ..............................................................................................15 1.8 Shark diet ........................................................................................................................ 15 2. Aims and hypotheses .................................................................................................16 3. Methods .....................................................................................................................17 3.1 Study Sites ....................................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Questionnaire Structure .................................................................................................. 18 3.2.1 Conjoint measures ...............................................................................................................................19 3.3 Sampling ......................................................................................................................... 20 3.4 Statistical Analyses .......................................................................................................... 21 3.4.1 Multiple Linear Regression Models ....................................................................................................23 4. Results .......................................................................................................................24 4.1 Perceptions regarding sharks .......................................................................................... 25 4.2 Opposition to lethal shark control ................................................................................... 26 4.3 Knowledge about sharks ................................................................................................. 28 4.4 Risk perceptions .............................................................................................................. 30 4.4.1 Multiple Linear Regression Model: All respondents ..........................................................................32 4.4.1 Multiple Linear Regression Model: Durban respondents....................................................................34 4.5 Understanding of lethal shark control ............................................................................. 37 4.6 Support for human-shark conflict interventions ............................................................. 38 4.7 Conjoint analysis ............................................................................................................. 41 5. Discussion ..................................................................................................................44 6. Conclusions and Recommendations ...........................................................................50 7. References .................................................................................................................52 8. Appendix ...................................................................................................................59 Appendix 1: Variables used to create the ‘Knowledge of Sharks’ variable............................ 59 iv Appendix 2: The questionnaire. ............................................................................................ 60 v Abstract South Africa has a history of human conflict with sharks and shark safety management. Management of this conflict differs throughout the country, with Cape Town opting for a non-lethal approach in the form of the Shark Spotters programme, and Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) opting for a lethal approach using shark nets and drumlines. Lethal management of sharks stems from a belief that without it, people would be too afraid to go in the water, leading to adverse effects on tourism and other associated industries. I assessed surfers’ perceptions of risk from sharks, how they value sharks, their knowledge of sharks, and their attitudes towards shark management. I surveyed surfers at Muizenberg Beach in Cape Town, and North Beach and Bay of Plenty Beach in Durban by asking them to answer questions in a questionnaire. A conjoint analysis assessed how likely respondents were to go in the water under various scenarios using situational factor levels related to shark presence, surf/sea and spotting conditions, and whether other people were in the water. The questionnaire results showed no support for lethal shark control and only 8.3% of respondents were aware