A shark, a woman.. and a growing dream
Posted By Jeff Ayliffe on 2 August 2006
There may be nothing more terrifying than the cry of "Shark!" when swimming in the ocean, but if sharks could, at the first sight of humans they would be shouting, "People!"
Lesley Rochat AOCA Founding Member
As I arrived at Lesley Rochat’s house, up on the slopes overlooking Fishhoek, I could almost sense an inspiration and passion for the ocean, which sits so well with her spectacular views out over False Bay. It’s not easy to get Lesley to yourself for an hour, the executive director and founder of AfriOceans Conservation Alliance (AOCA) is juggling a multitude of projects, and she has only recently arrived back at home from a diving and photography trip to the blue water off Kwazulu-Natal.
Before my visit, I saw Lesley as a woman who had done an enormous amount to promote shark awareness with her project to document the release back to the ocean of Maxine, a ragged-tooth shark who had been resident at Capetowns Two Oceans Aquarium. I had seen a very driven woman who had achieved huge amounts in exposing the media to Maxine's story.
After my visit, I saw Lesley as a woman that did all of the above, and then some. I saw a woman who was passionate, sensitive, concerned, creative, dynamic...and whose day to day plans went far beyond a large female ragged-tooth shark which now swims freely in the open ocean again, and who’s final human contact was with the petite woman off Struisbaai.
Apart from an ongoing programme with the release and tracking of ragged-tooth sharks from the Two Oceans Aquarium, Lesley is currently working on at least 2 documentary's with her company, Blue Pulse Pictures. She is writing books, designing shark awareness posters which are already going up at beaches around the country, she is putting together educational programmes and books for kids and schools, and one senses that she is constantly on the lookout for involvement in any projects which will help to increase people's knowledge of the marine eco-system. How then, did this all begin.
As a young girl, Lesley's favorite programme was a television series by the legendary Jacques Cousteau, which was screened with the arrival of television in the country. That was to be the catalyst for a love affair with the ocean. After graduating from the University of Cape Town, she became a model, actress and television presenter, before moving into the lucrative world of corporate insurance. The deep blue was never far from her mind, and as a creative release, Lesley became a recognized travel and environmental journalist, diving and photographing extensively around Africa and neighboring islands. Her production company Blue Pulse Pictures was formed, and under this banner she visited the Two Ocean Aquarium in Cape Town and in a small moment of fate, as she stood in front of the predator exhibit, her gaze fell on a scar behind the gill of Maxine, a 200 kg female ragged-tooth shark, and the aquariums star exhibit.
Lesley enquired about the scar, and that story set in motion a series of events which would culminate in Maxine's release.
Maxine had been entangled in shark nets off Durban, on the east coast of South Africa. Fortunately, the Sharks Board had found her, and after a routine inspection, had released her. 90 days and 1369 km later, she was caught by a fisherman in Struisbaai, off the CapeCoast. The fisherman had heard that the Two Oceans Aquarium were looking for a star exhibit, and Maxine was shipped to a life of captivity.
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