That must be one of the most click-bait headlines we have ever published. Even so, the point of these 300- words is to calm the public down and put everyone at rest concerning the shark sightings rumours that were rife in St Francis Bay and Cape St. Francis during the week.

Shark Sightings

Firstly, it must be said that there have been plenty of shark sightings in the neighbourhoods. Still, they have been mostly harmless Bronzies languidly cruising around the bays, keeping to themselves. They were most likely cruising around close enough to enjoy some of the music from Billy’s. I heard it was loud enough to travel quite far underwater. I heard a DJ was set up on the main beach on New Year’s Day – plenty of decibels for all creatures to enjoy the tunes.

Secondly, there have been more sightings this year because more people have eyes on the water from the right angles. More drones have been up, microlights and helicopters have been in the air, etc. The sharks are always around; it’s just that we don’t really know about them because we are rarely at the correct angle to see under the water’s surface. It’s not like there is a sudden proliferation of sharks in the water. It’s more about more people looking at the water.

Sparkling Blue

On top of that, the ocean has been extremely clean and sparkling blue the last few days/weeks. Coupled with very little swell activity, the aerial visibility has been somewhat remarkable.

Finally, the rumour of a pesky Great White cruising around recently had a negative search result last week. A few sources (heli, micro, drone) told us nothing could be seen from the sky. Further from the boat, there was no sign of any sharks in the bay on that particular day.

Still, this is a friendly reminder that you all need to be careful at all times, listen to the Kouga Municipality local lifeguards doing a stellar job on our beaches, and heed any warnings from them should there be any reason to.

See more: A-Frames and Sharks at Seal Point – Notes From The Editor