Visitors and locals heading to Plettenberg Bay’s beaches are being urged to be extra cautious after the town’s Shark Spotters programme was suspended, leaving one of SA’s best-known coastal destinations without its dedicated shark-monitoring service.
The suspension comes at a time when shark activity along the coastline remains a concern, with recent and regular sightings serving as a reminder that these waters are home to some of the world’s largest marine predators.
Plettenberg Bay’s Shark Spotters programme was established in November 2022 after two fatal great white shark attacks within three months shocked the community.
The deaths of swimmer Bruce Wolov in June and Kimon “Kiki” Bisogno in September prompted the Plett Shark Action Group to invite Shark Spotters, a Cape Town-based nonprofit that has provided shark safety services since 2004, to introduce a non-lethal shark safety programme at Plett’s busiest beaches.
Since Plett Shark Spotters started, trained shark spotters have operated across five of Plettenberg Bay’s busiest beaches 365 days a year, weather permitting, providing daily monitoring and safety information to beach users.
SA’s Shark Spotters programme, first developed in Cape Town in 2004, and later introduced to Plettenberg Bay, is internationally recognised because it uses trained observers stationed on mountain slopes and elevated vantage points to detect sharks, raise warning flags and evacuate swimmers if necessary.
It is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading examples of a non-lethal shark safety programme, combining spotting, education, research and conservation.
Working closely with Bitou Municipality Beach Control, the Plett Surf Lifesaving Club and the NSRI, the Plett Shark Spotters has become an integral part of improving beach safety while reducing shark-human conflict and restoring public confidence in the safe use of the town’s beaches.
It has also created 14 full-time employment and skills development opportunities for residents from under-resourced communities in the Bitou area.
Shark spotting services have been provided at The Wreck, Robberg 1, Central Beach, The Wedge and Lookout Beach, with additional safety measures introduced at Robberg 5 during the busy holiday season.
It was comforting knowing that trained spotters were providing an early warning system and it restored public confidence in Plett’s beaches.
They have done an amazing job and I know this first hand because last year we were at Plett Main Beach, had just been swimming, when a shark was spotted.
Whistles were blown and swimmers were evacuated in minutes.
We swim a lot in summer and even snorkel in Plett, so I must say it was definitely a comfort knowing that eyes were on the water.
My son goes way out to surf and I always say a “shark-protection-prayer” for his protection.
There is absolutely no doubt that there are bloody great sharks in these Plett waters.
Now in winter if we walk Robberg, there is one section of the hike that looks down on where the seals live — and the sharks that swim here are ginormous.
Shark Spotters confirmed that its Plettenberg Bay operations were suspended on July 1 after its memorandum of agreement with the Bitou municipality expired at the end of June.
Despite extensive discussions over recent months, a new agreement has yet to be concluded.
Without that agreement, the organisation says it no longer has either the legal mandate or the funding required to continue monitoring the town’s beaches.
It says suspending the programme was not a decision it wanted to make, but it had no choice until a new agreement is reached.
The organisation has since confirmed that there are still no shark spotters on duty.
It says that though negotiations with the municipality are continuing, nothing final has been decided.
Finances are the major obstacle. Plett Spotters’ annual operating budget is about R2.4m (most of it goes on salaries).
Though the Bitou municipality committed R800,000 towards the project, Shark Spotters says it is still left with a funding shortfall of just over R1.1m, making it impossible to continue operating.
As part of the broader Shark Spotters organisation, the Plett operation has brought significant additional value to Plettenberg Bay through education, research and conservation while creating local employment and developing skills.
Shark Spotters has collected and analysed shark sighting data to better understand the environmental, seasonal and spatial factors that influence shark risk.
It has supplied data on other marine megafauna to local researchers, collaborated with CapeNature, the Orca Foundation and the Rockhopper Fund on a long-term fish biodiversity monitoring programme.
It has also worked alongside shark and ray researchers on projects including the acoustic tagging of bronze whaler sharks and other species.
The programme has also contributed to three ongoing research projects focusing on sharks, rays and dolphins while providing valuable skills development opportunities for young marine science students and enthusiasts.
Now, with the programme suspended, the organisation is appealing directly to the public for support.
It says every recurring or one-off donation is an investment in the safety of local residents and visitors, the protection of Plettenberg Bay’s marine environment and the sustainability of the town’s tourism economy.
Shark Spotters is a registered non-profit organisation and Section 18A Public Benefit Organisation, enabling qualifying donors to receive tax benefits, while businesses may also qualify for CSI, supplier development and BBBEE benefits.
In an effort to save it, the organisation has launched a public fundraising campaign through BackaBuddy while also appealing directly for donations to help return trained shark spotters to Plettenberg Bay’s beaches.
Follow the link shared by Shark Spotters on its official social media Facebook page.
Shark Spotters has thanked the community for supporting the initiative, saying every donation helps protect beach users, sustain local jobs and safeguard Plettenberg Bay’s marine environment.
Its banking details are: Standard Bank, account name Plett Shark Spotters, account type is current/cheque, account no 10184687894, branch code 051001, swift code: SBZAZAJJ.
Email proof of payment to plett@sharkspotters.org.za for a donation receipt.
Now more than ever beachgoers need to significantly reduce their risk of a shark encounter by taking simple precautions.
Swim only at beaches where lifeguards are on duty, follow all warning flags and signs, and leave the water immediately if instructed to do so.
Avoid swimming at dawn, dusk or after dark, when sharks are generally more active, and stay out of the water if visibility is poor, after heavy rain, or where there are large schools of fish, seals or diving seabirds that may attract sharks.
Swimming in groups is safer than swimming alone, while shiny jewellery should be avoided as it can resemble fish scales.
If a shark is spotted, leave the water calmly without splashing or panicking, alert others nearby, and always pay attention to advice from lifeguards, beach authorities.
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