City’s Beach-Goers Urged To Be Cautious

Forget ghost-busters, become a shark spotter.

Last Updated: 21 December 2016

The City of Cape Town is partnering up with Shark Spotters to keep beaches safe. Beach-goers are advised to pay attention to shark signage and obey officials’ instructions when spending the day at the beach.

The Mother City will be working together with the Shark Spotters to improve beach safety. The initiative has been given extra attention  during the busy beach days ahead. The Day of Goodwill, New Year’s Day and Tweede Nuwejaar are days spent beaching as everyone looks forward to cooling off during these hot summer days. This is the time when vigilance is key and any shark sightings should be reported to the Shark Spotters.

“Even though 30 Shark Spotters and 10 Fish Hoek shark exclusion net crew members have been employed to improve beach safety during the upcoming summer season, we need all the help we can get,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Environmental and Spatial Planning, Councillor Johan van der Merwe.

Shark Spotter looking for any signs of a shark in the waters.

The Fish Hoek shark exclusion net forms a complete barricade from the seafloor to the sea surface and prevents animals from entering the ‘exclusion zone’ in the southern corner of Fish Hoek Bay. It is deployed and retrieved daily to minimise the risk of trapping marine animals and has been specifically designed to have minimal impact on the environment. The exclusion net is active daily (weather permitting) between 9am and 5pm until March 2017 and on weekends, public and school holidays in April 2017.

Locals can use the Shark Spotter app which provides beach-goers with all the latest shark safety information at City beaches, including which flag is currently flying and why. The flags fly for various reasons, including:

• poor sighting conditions due to cloud cover
• shark sightings
• an indication of water temperature
• the lunar phase
• an indication of whether the shark exclusion barrier in Fish Hoek has been deployed or not

Shark Spotters are present at the following other beaches:

5 GENERAL SHARK SAFETY TIPS FOR BEACH-GOERS

• not swimming, surfing or surf-skiing when birds, dolphins or seals are feeding nearby
• not swimming, surfing or surf-skiing where trek-netting, fishing or spear fishing is taking place
• not swimming in deep water beyond the breakers
• being aware that the rate of encounters with white sharks rises significantly when the water temperature is warmer (18ºC or higher), and during new moon, due to increased opportunities for feeding
• consider using another beach if a shark has recently been sighted in a particular area where no Shark Spotters are present

The Shark Spotters’ Information Centre, situated at Muizenberg Surfer’s Corner, is open to all members of the public from 8am to 6pm, seven days a week.

By Garth Prins

Source Credit: City of Cape Town

Image Credit: Shark Spotters

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