The Shark Spotting Programme aims to reduce the interaction of recreational water users and sharks. Cape Town has, over the last few years, experienced an increase in the number of great white sharks occurring in the in-shore zone. Although no scientific data exists to support this or indicate otherwise, anecdotal evidence from water users suggests that in-shore occurrence has increased.
In response to these events and the increased fear by water users, particularly in False Bay, two community driven programmes were started out of a need to improve the safety of recreational water users in 2004.
The success of the community programmes has resulted in funding being provided by the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Resource Management Department and WWF, and the formalisation of shark spotting as an effective safety project. The shark spotting programme is now a non-profit organisation (NPO) largely funded by the City of Cape Town, WWF through the Table Mountain Fund, and small donations from private companies. The NPO is managed by a committee that represents a range of organisations.
The programme has attracted international and local attention because of the novel way it seeks to find a solution to potential conflicts between sharks and people. Basically, shark spotters situated at vantage points above various beaches keep a constant eye on the beach, and radio information to beach staff. The staff in turn use flags and sirens to indicate the shark safety status of the beach at any time. The more than 790 sightings and resultant warnings between 2004 and 2010 bear testimony to the success of this programme.
Not only does shark spotting provide increased safety at selected beaches but it also has multiple benefits of creating employment for disadvantaged groups, environmental education and awareness of the public, collection of data for research, and capacity and skills development of the shark spotters.
The Shark Spotting Programme works closely with the NSRI and SA Lifesaving and has distributed several shark attack kits to Cape Town beaches, trained City officials in emergency first aid and provided regular reports on shark presence to a range of organisations.
Spotters are on the following beaches year round: Muizenberg, St James/Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Noordhoek. Between September and April they operate on the following beaches; only on weekends, public holidays and school holidays: Clovelly and Glencairn.
Please familiarise yourself with these signs before visiting the aforementioned beaches:
Flag warning system [PDF 454 KB]
Be shark smart - information and safety tips [PDF 325 KB]
Shark warning - high risk area, swim at own risk [PDF 239 KB]
The following fact sheets on the white shark are available for download:
Fact Sheet 1 – White Shark facts [PDF 34 KB]
Fact Sheet 2 - Mitigation measures to reduce the risk of shark encounters [PDF 39 KB]
Fact Sheet 3 - Shark-based tourism and encounters [PDF 37 KB]
Fact Sheet 4 – Tips on shark safety [PDF 45 KB]
A specialist report on white sharks is available for download:
Finding a Balance – White Shark Conservation and Recreational Safety in the Inshore Waters of Cape Town, South Africa, Aug. 2006 [Zipped PDF 3.4 MB]
Proceedings of a specialist workshop to address white shark conservation and recreational safety in Cape Town. A number of highly regarded experts contributed fifteen scientific and background papers which were reviewed by the editors. Several key conclusions and recommendations were made based on the information presented. These recommendations have played a central role in informing the City’s Draft White Shark and Coastal Recreational Safety policy and strategy.
For further information, visit the Shark Spotters website at www.sharkspotters.org.za, or contact:
Sarah Titley (Project Manager: Shark Spotters)
Tel: +27 (0)21 783 3433
Cell: +27 (0)76 859 3633
E-mail: sharkspotters@gmail.com
Alison Kock (Research Director: Shark Spotters)
Cell: +27 (0)72 661 9516
E-mail: alison@saveourseas.com
Please consider the environment before printing this web page.
Skip to top