Teen surfer bitten by shark

THE NSRI has urged the public to be cautious along the Garden Route as there has been an increase of shark sightings close inshore.

On Saturday a 14-year-old surfer was bitten by a shark on his right calf at The Waves, Plettenberg Bay.

“The teenager was on his surfboard… with two other surfers. At the back-line he turned to catch a wave when he saw a fin approaching; he felt a bump and then a bite on his right calf. He caught a wave to the beach where he was met by his dad, who had witnessed the incident, and bystanders who rendered assistance while raising the alarm,” an NSRI spokesperson said.

Shark researchers will investigate, to determine the species, but an unconfirmed report indicates it had been a 2m-long white shark.

“Sharks are aggregating in this area at this time, as they have done in previous years, to take advantage of naturally occurring prey like seals and fish close inshore. In particular a large number of shark sightings have been recorded close inshore along the Plettenberg Bay coastline,” the spokesperson said.

On Friday at Port Edward, the NSRI assisted five crew of a boat that capsized on launching into the surf; while at Keurbooms River mouth, four paddlers ran into difficulty but made it safely back to shore. A four-man fishing boat crew from Bellville were towed back to St Helena Bay, after they drifted out to sea.

On Saturday, a Simon’s Town motor boat crew took on water, after they allegedly collided with a whale in the Kommetjie area. They were towed to Hout Bay and there was no sighting of the whale, the spokesperson said.