Great White Sharks - Be Careful Where You Swim!

I have always enjoyed the sea - watching it that is! Although I grew up in Cape Town I have never enjoyed swimming in the ocean that much. I love being at the sea and have snorkelled at Boulders and other areas from time to time. However I don't really enjoy swimming out in the sea as much as many of the city's residents.

Now I know why! The City of Cape Town issued a white shark warning on Tuesday as we head into what is traditionally a period of greater shark activity in the waters around the city.

"Although white sharks are present in our waters all year round, we are approaching the time of the year when the possibility of encountering one of these animals is much greater," Gregg Oelofse of the city's environmental resource management department said.

Oelofse said that sharks moved from the waters around Seal Island in False Bay in the winter, to the coastal inshore areas during the summer.

Statistics over the past five years show that the period of mid-August to end September had seen the highest numbers of interactions between white sharks and recreational users of the sea.

People using the ocean should be "extra vigilant" over the next few months.

This past Monday (20 August) shark spotters sighted a shark at Fish Hoek beach just after midday - the first in the area in months.

I definitely won't be swimming this season!

For those who wish to get a little closer to these apex predators, take a look at this opportunity to go Great White shark cage diving

For some incredible footage of False Bay sharks take a look at this documentary from the Discovery Channel -