News24 reports a paddler was knocked off his surf ski after a shark apparently breached and took a bite out of the lightweight vessel near the breaker line at Keurbooms Lagoon in Plettenberg Bay.
Local NSRI station commander Marc Rodgers says Ben Swart, 55, had been in the water with two friends when he felt a "hard bump" shortly after 07:00 - read the full report here.
Rodgers told Traveller24 they have spoken to a resident shark expert who is currently investigating the bite marks to determine the size and type of shark.
The shark took a fair bite out of Swart’s surf-ski.
"This is not their most active time during the year, we do spot sharks during December but not at the frequency of July through August."
"According to our shark expert this is a freak incident and while we do have sharks in the area to have activity like this is out of ordinary."
Beachgoers are however being advised to swim as close as possible to lifeguards, who are on alert to close beaches if necessary.
Coast watchers are currently monitoring the seas, along with air crew as we have a couple of local pilots who do flips every day to keep a look out for sharks - just so we can close beaches in time," says Rodgers.
"The best thing would be keep an eye on the shark alert flags and to swim close to the lifeguard tower and they will be calling people out of the water when necessary."
LOOK at that bite size. If he'd been on a surfboard- he'd have been dead and nearly cut in half.
R.C.