Shark Spotting

Shark Spotters save Public and Great White Sharks

Shark spotters were put in place to protect the endangered Great White Shark from unnecessary killing and extinction and to protect beach goers on beaches across the Western Cape coastline where Great White Sharks are prevalent.

Shark Spotters is a pioneering shark safety programme that has attracted international and local attention because of the novel way it seeks to find a solution to potential conflicts between sharks and people. Adopted by the City of Cape Town in 2004 in response to a spate of shark bite incidents and increased shark sightings, Shark Spotters is now the primary shark safety programme used in Cape Town.

Source: http://saveourseas.com/projects/shark_spotters_za

Aims and Objectives

Shark Spotters are positioned at strategic points along the Cape Peninsula, primarily in False Bay coastline. A spotter is placed on the mountain with polarised sunglasses and binoculars. This spotter is in radio contact with another spotter on the beach. If a shark is seen the beach spotter sounds a siren and raises a specific colour coded flag (see diagram below).  When the siren sounds the water users are requested to leave the water and only return when the appropriate all clear signal is given.

Source: http://saveourseas.com/projects/shark_spotters_za

The Save our Seas foundation is one of the main Great White Shark conservation heroes. To view more about them, their work and to download a Shark Desktop Calendar for your computer, click here: SAVE OUR SEAS – Desktop Calendar