The recent killing of a juvenile great white shark on a drum line — a shark control method consisting of baited hooks attached to floating drums — off the east coast of South Africa has sparked a debate over the measures employed to protect swimmers at the expense of the threatened species.

The 2.2-meter (7.2-foot) female white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) was caught off the town of Margate in KwaZulu-Natal province on May 30, on a baited fishing line used by the KZN Sharks Board, an organization responsible for bather protection against shark attacks near the shore.

The shark was one of eight that marine biologists Alison Towner and Alison Kock had tagged off Mossel Bay on the country’s southwestern coast in April. The tagging was part of a national tracking project aiming to understand how white sharks respond to increasing ecological pressures along South Africa’s coastline.

“The loss of this shark is deeply upsetting,” Towner, from Rhodes University, told Mongabay via email. “The capture and death of this tagged shark is not only a scientific loss, but a stark reminder of the mounting pressures this species continues to face in South Africa.”

Once known as a global hotspot for great white sharks, sightings of the species along South Africa’s coast have declined over the past decade.

Esther Jacobs, a conservationist from the nonprofit Earth Legacy Foundation, told Mongabay that longline fishery and predation by orcas (Orcinus orca) are major threats to the sharks. “But the biggest threat of all is proven to be the drum lines and the shark nets.”

Data from South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) show that from 2004-2024, the KZN Sharks Board caught an average of about 25 great white sharks annually; 86% died. Nontarget animals like turtles, dolphins, whales and other threatened sharks were also killed.

The latest incident has renewed a debate about the board’s use of lethal deterrent methods, also deployed in marine protected areas.

Confirming the incident, DFFE spokesperson Thobile Molobi, told Mongabay by email the “issue is complex because finding a balance between shark conservation and bather protection is difficult.”

Conservationists like Jacobs have called for a phased removal of lethal gear and an immediate moratorium on their deployment in MPAs.

Researchers and conservationists have suggested alternatives like SMART drumlines used in Australia that send real-time alerts to operators so a shark can be quickly released, as well as other deterrents using magnets or shark spotters. However, Dion George, South Africa’s environment minister, said in a statement that “the logistical complexities of KZN’s coastline currently make these measures unsuitable for effective administration across all protected areas.”

Towner said “it is increasingly clear that multiple, interacting pressures” are driving the decline of great white sharks. “What we need now is an inclusive, coordinated response — and it needs to happen with urgency.”

Banner Image: Great white shark in Mossel Bay, South Africa. Image courtesy of Esther Jacobs.