“Alison Kock of Sharkspotters recently became the first person from Africa to get a PHD on White Sharks.We are super proud of our Scientist and New Doctor. Her work and data over the past years has helped get world attention on our Sharks, fund our programs AND save sharks and humans in the process.” Greg Bertish – Sharkspotter Founder/Chairman

Here is some information on what her PHD involves and covers:

For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In Biological Sciences

For a thesis which investigates the behavioural and spatial ecology of white sharks in False Bay, South Africa and through these data proposes both short and long-term management strategies for the improved conservation of this apex predator.

Alison Ann Kock

Thesis Title: Behavioural ecology of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in False Bay,

South Africa: Towards improved management and conservation of a threatened apex predator

 Alison Kock obtained her BSc (Honours) from the University of Cape Town and upgraded her Masters to a PhD in 2005. She completed her PhD whilst in the full time employment of the City of Cape Town’s acclaimed Shark Spotters Program.Alison Kock’s thesis aims to understand the movement patterns and feeding behaviour of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) – a globally threatened apex predator.  Using a combination of acoustic tracking technology and boat-based observations; she succeeds in identifying False Bay as a globally important aggregation site for both male and female sub-adult and juvenile white sharks. Her thesis provides the first evidence of marked seasonal segregation of the sexes within coastal waters. While both sexes aggregate at Seal Island in winter to feed on naïve young seals, only the females then move to the inshore region during the spring and summer months. There is thus a high spatial overlap between human recreational users and female sharks in the warmer months of the year.  Despite this sharing of the surf zone, incidents between sharks and recreational beach users are extremely rare, which bodes well for a management framework that allows co-existence between this top predator and people in False Bay. This is the first doctoral thesis on white sharks in Africa and adds substantially to our knowledge of global white shark ecology and conservation challenges.

Supervisor: Prof. MJ O’Riain (Biological Sciences)

Co-supervisors: Emeritus Prof. CL Griffiths (Biological Sciences); Ms. K Mauff (Statistical Sciences)    

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Greg Bertish – Sharkspotter Founder/Chairman