November 3, 2010. The City of Cape Town has issued a formal alert after the shark spotters above False Bay recorded 12 sightings in five days, with five sightings in one day.
If you’re travelling to Cape Town in the near future, be aware of unusually high shark activity on the Western side of False Bay.
“The City of Cape Town and the shark spotting programme would like to make water users aware of the current high (great) white shark activity on the west side of False Bay, particularly in the Fish Hoek and Clovelly area,” read a statement.
“Shark-spotting remains a priority this festive season. Shark-spotters will be deployed to Glencairn and Clovelly beaches during December, long weekends and over Easter. Shark-spotters will remain in place at Muizenberg Corner, Fish Hoek, St. James, Kalk Bay and The Hoek in Noordhoek for 365 days a year.”
The City of Cape Town said it was highly likely the sharks were in the area hunting fish and summer time is normally the time white sharks are more common in the area, a trend observed for many years.
Video: Surfer stalks shark
Great whites are common in the area at this time of the year and the city has asked residents and visitors to be extra vigilant. There are no shark nets in the area.
In January this year a man was taken at Fish Hoek beach in a much publicised attack. For more click here.