GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Bathers along the Southern Cape coastline beware – some sharks have come out to play.
Since 11 December, a number of shark sightings along the Garden Route have had beaches closing and opening again on and off.
The latest of these sightings the Knysna-Plett Herald was aware of occurred on Tuesday 19 December in Plettenberg Bay, where authorities warned that sharks were spotted at various beaches.
These were at The Waves, The Dunes, Keurbooms and Lookout beaches.
Accordingly, these beaches will be closed and opened as needed following an increase in shark activity, and beachgoers have been cautioned to adhere to lifeguard instructions.
Other sightings
It has not only been Plettenberg Bay but also beaches stretching from Sedgefield, Buffalo Bay and Brenton-on-Sea all the way to Plett have had more than a week of sightings in their tempting blue waters.
On 11 December all Robberg beaches in Plett were closed due to numerous shark sightings.
Bathers were cautioned to swim between the flags and adhere to lifeguards’ instructions.
From 18 to 19 December beaches between Sedgefield and Brenton-on-Sea were closed and opened on a number of occasions.
The closure of beaches started at Myoli beach in Sedgefield, late on the afternoon of 18 December. It was reopened the following day only to be closed again later, and again reopened.
Buffalo Bay beach was closed around midday on 19 December and opened a few hours later, while Brenton-on-Sea was closed as Myoli was opened for the final time that day.
Take heed, people
In a statement, the NSRI has cautioned bathers, divers, paddlers, spear fishermen and anglers to be aware of increased shark activity along the Southern Cape coastline, between Nature's Valley and Mossel Bay.
The NSRI has further urged the public to adhere to local municipal authority warnings and go to beaches only where and when lifeguards are on duty, to obey the lifeguards' safety instructions, to swim between the red and yellow flags posted by lifeguards, and to leave the water if instructed to do so.
“NSRI and the emergency services are well prepared to deal with any incidents. NSRI stations carry emergency medical shark kits including on all rescue boats and on NSRI rescue vehicles.
"Our medics are carrying these kits in their private vehicles as well in an effort to ensure the quickest response to any incident,” the statement said.
* For emergencies contact the sea rescue national emergency number on 112 from a cellphone, or visit www.nsri.org.za to get local NSRI emergency numbers.
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