In a first, man sentenced for killing white shark
8 Feb 2013 5:52 AM IST
A South African fisherman has become the first person in the world to be convicted of killing a great white shark.
Leon Bekker, of George, Western Cape, pleaded guilty to contravention of the Marine Living Resources Act which includes attempting to kill, disturb or be in possession of a white shark without a permit.
Bekker pointed out that he had no idea about hooking a great white shark while fishing from the shore using a rod and line, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.
However, in a landmark decision Mossel Bay Magistrate’s Court handed Bekker a fine of more than 8,550 pounds or a 12-month prison sentence.
The unprecedented case is the only great white shark conviction in a South African court to date - the first country to impose legislation in protecting great white sharks.
Great white sharks have been protected in South African waters since 1991 and no one is permitted to catch them, or even to attempt to do so.
‘This is the first legal case, and conviction, around the catching of a white shark in South Africa,’ Spokesman of The World Wildlife Fund Eleanor Yeld Hutchings said.
Leon Bekker, of George, Western Cape, pleaded guilty to contravention of the Marine Living Resources Act which includes attempting to kill, disturb or be in possession of a white shark without a permit.
Bekker pointed out that he had no idea about hooking a great white shark while fishing from the shore using a rod and line, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.
However, in a landmark decision Mossel Bay Magistrate’s Court handed Bekker a fine of more than 8,550 pounds or a 12-month prison sentence.
The unprecedented case is the only great white shark conviction in a South African court to date - the first country to impose legislation in protecting great white sharks.
Great white sharks have been protected in South African waters since 1991 and no one is permitted to catch them, or even to attempt to do so.
‘This is the first legal case, and conviction, around the catching of a white shark in South Africa,’ Spokesman of The World Wildlife Fund Eleanor Yeld Hutchings said.
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