MARINE PROGRAMME:
Protecting sharks and humans from up high
When a shark is sighted, the shark spotters will encourage all water users to clear the water
From the ridges flanking False Bay, a group of people constantly scan the blue waters below. The spotters are on the lookout for sharks, armed with antiglare sunglasses, a pair of binoculars and a walkie-talkie. According to new research, published in journal PlosOne, manual shark spotting works. The research also found a strong overlap between shark activity and when people go swimming. The research, using spotter data from False Bay’s beaches between 2006 and 2014, found that shark sightings — and water users — were highest in the spring and summer months, and lowest in June and July. Shark activity peaks during the day between 9am and 4pm — when people want to swim in the water. This is according to research undertaken by University of Cape Town doctoral candidate Tamlyn Engelbrecht. "Despite this," the authors write, "there was a low rate of shark-human incidents, which we attribute to the Shark Spotters programme." On average, there are fewer than one shark attack every two yea...
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