Shark Spotters, a pioneering shark safety and research organisation founded to pro-actively reduce interactions and conflict between recreational users and sharks, has reached a 20-year milestone.
Reflecting on where it all started in 2004, Sarah Waries who has led the Shark Spotters programme for over 16 years as project manager and then CEO, says it is phenomenal that something which started so small has grown into what it is today.
“It is really kind of phenomenal that we reached 20 years after it started small as a community and now we are world leaders in sustainable shark safety and mitigating contact between people and sharks.”
Twenty years later, Shark Spotters is the only shark safety programme rolled out at eight beaches across Cape Town and now also in Plettenberg Bay.
The programme has grown to a award-winning safety initiative and globally recognised holistic marine conservation organisation.
An independent review of bather protection technologies commissioned by the Australian government in 2015, placed Shark Spotters as the highest ranked shark mitigation measure available.
“In the early 2000s there was a number of shark bites and increase in shark activity. At the time a surfer JP Andrews lost his leg to a white shark in Muizenberg. Businesses were concerned that people would not come to the beach.
“Fear for safety leaves visitors reluctant to partake in recreational activities, hindering the growth of small businesses that contribute significantly to our local economy. Our commitment to economic growth in South Africa extends to sustainably safeguarding our beaches, benefiting local businesses and the marine environment.
“So, local businesses and the City of Cape Town came together and looked at feasible ways to protect people and sharks,” says Waries.
Starting at Fish Hoek Beach, a shark exclusion net was deployed and shark spotters rolled out at various beaches – employing 70 people.
“We wanted to protect people and sharks and started in Fish Hoek and Muizenberg.”
Waries says the growth of Shark Spotters from small beginnings to expanding in Plettenberg Bay is testament to the success of the programme.
“The programme grew and we partnered with shark experts to understand shark behaviour – we have been studying sharks in our area and collaborating with scientists.
“Most important is education and employment. We have over 70 people employed with the emphasis on skills development. We even have the original shark spotters who started with us 20 years ago and have a graduate programme.”
She further points out that the programme could not be successful without partnerships.
“The thing that makes it so successful is the partnerships we’ve built such as the City of Cape Town and Save our Seas.
“After 20 years we still struggle for funds and our most important thing is the impact of education and so we invite people to join us.”
