The City of Cape Town has closed False Bay beaches between Glencairn and Strandfontein until further notice after a Zimbabwean tourist was killed during a shark attack off Fish Hoek beach on Tuesday afternoon.
It said the reason for the closure was that weather conditions were making shark monitoring difficult at present. Beaches may still be visited but no-one may enter the water.
Strandfontein Pavillion and Blue Waters, closed immediately after the attack, were re-opened on Wednesday. The city appealed to bathers to remain in shallow water, not to swim alone, to stay within view of a family member or friend, to obey instructions from lifeguards and to make use of the tidal pool at Strandfontein.
Meanwhile, police identified Tuesday’s shark attack victim as 37-year-old Lloyd Skinner, a Zimbabwean on holiday. He was about 100m from the shore when he was attacked by what witnesses believed to have been a Great White shark. Great Whites are present throughout the year in False Bay, but particularly prevalent in spring and summer.
Shark Spotters from the city’s Shark Spotting Programme were on duty at Fish Hoek beach at the time of the attack and a black flag had been raised to warn the public of poor visibility.
The City said it would thoroughly investigate the attack. “The City would like to extend its sincere condolences to the victim’s family. As a city, we pride ourselves on having one of the most beautiful coastlines for everyone to enjoy and events like yesterday’s are particularly sad for Cape Town,” said Gregg Oelofse, the city’s head: environmental policy and strategy, environmental resource management. He appealed to the public to always pay attention to the warning flags raised by shark spotters and lifeguards.
The last shark attack in Cape Town was in Strand on November 7, 2007, involving a minor injury. The last fatal attack was in 2005. The last fatal shark attack in Fish Hoek was in November 2004 when Tyna Webb, 77, was killed by a shark after swimming 60m off the coast.
Shark spotters have regularly sighted sharks with over 570 recorded sightings since November 2004.
This holiday season shark spotters recorded frequent sightings over the last month. An alert was sent out on Sunday after eight sightings were recorded between Muizenberg and Kalk Bay on Saturday and Friday. In both cases the beaches were cleared successfully and re-opened when the shark had moved on.
The City urged beachgoers to pay attention to warning flags used by shark spotters and to follow the instructions of lifeguards and law-enforcement officers.
Shark spotters have a four flag and siren warning system:
* Green: This means no sharks have been spotted in the area and the water is clear enough for shark spotters to spot sharks swimming in the area.
* Red: When this flag is raised, bathers and surfers should be cautious, as a shark was spotted in the area within the last two hours.
* Black: When a black flag is raised, bathers and surfers are warned that the visibility of the water is poor and it is very difficult for shark spotters to determine whether there are sharks in the area or not. People should exercise extreme caution when they enter the water.
* White with a black shark: This flag will be raised when a shark is spotted. At this point a siren will also sound to tell all bathers and surfers to leave the water immediately until the shark spotters and lifeguards indicate that the area is safe again.
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