Shark spotted in Cape Town: Beachgoers on high alert for Wednesday

The red flag is flying above one of Cape Town’s most beloved beaches on Wednesday, after a shark was spotted making its way up the coast just before 11:30. Kogel Bay beachgoers have been put on high alert, as the bronze whaler remains too close for comfort.

Another shark spotted near Cape Town

Kogel Bay sits in the False Bay region of Cape Town, and is home to beautiful blue waters and breathtaking scenery. There have been multiple sightings of these predators near the caves in 2020, and it seems they’ve made another return to their favourite hang-out.

Since the turn of the year, many have been spotted near Fish Hoek beach too, and the most recent sighting came on 24 January. It’s been two weeks since any shark activity was spotted off the coast, but the eagle-eyed marine experts picked something out on Wednesday.

Bronze whaler shark spotted @ Caves, Kogel Bay (11. 20am, 5 Feb 2020). Outside water user area, Red flag flown as precaution. #BeSharkSmart

— Shark Spotters (@SharkSpotters) February 5, 2020

Kogel Bay shark sighting – what do beach flags mean?

Need a refresher course on what a red flag actually means? Be our guests…

• Green: Spotting conditions good.
• Black: Spotting conditions poor.
• Red: High shark alert – which is currently in force.
• White: Shark spotted nearby, leave the water immediately. Usually accompanied by a siren.

Where is False Bay?

False Bay runs from Muizenberg right round to Kleinmond in the Western Cape. It’s home to some of the best-kept secret beaches in the province. But over the years, it developed a reputation for being the favourite hang-out of Great White sharks. Sadly, not one of them was spotted here throughout the whole of 2019. But this year has started on a positive note, as the first one returned to the region in January.

Shark Spotters operate on eight beaches around Cape Town, primarily in False Bay. Four of these are a year-round racket – Muizenberg, St James/Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Kogel Bay. Meanwhile, the other four only operate during the spring-summer season, in Glencairn, Clovelly, Monwabisi and Noordhoek.

These beaches have been strategically selected as those which have the highest spatial overlap between people and sharks. That’s based on the ratio of “popular bathing or surfing beaches” to highest number of shark-sightings”.