Dori1 May 2025 | 10:38

Interesting workers: What exactly does a Shark Spotter do?

To celebrate Workers' Day, we decided to speak to some of the everyday folk who have everyday jobs which we don’t often hear of.

Interesting workers: What exactly does a Shark Spotter do?

John Maytham (standing in for CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit) speaks to Yaseen Abrahams, who works as a Shark Spotter.

Listen below:

If you have really good eyesight and excellent communication skills, Shark Spotting might be the perfect job for you.

Abrahams shares how he saw an ad for the job on Facebook eight years ago, and with his passion for marine biology, decided to apply.

But the job is not as simple as just staring at the sea all day, looking for fins sticking out of the water...

"Sharks can approach at any time, so your alertness is very important... we identify the shark by movement and the shape of the silhouette - so we're looking for a silhouette inside the water, looks like a dark shadow."
- Yaseen Abrahams, Shark Spotter