Crossing paths

Generally, close interactions between beach-goers and sharks do not end well for either party. While the first record of a shark fatality in False Bay is from 1900, it was a cluster of shark incidents during the 2000s that set in motion the process that would determine how the current balance between humans and sharks would play out.

Among this cluster of incidents were some that resulted in the loss of limbs and the loss of lives, including one in 2006 that left Achmat Hassiem, an aspiring professional soccer player, without his lower right leg. Hassiem and his brother were both in the water at the time, taking part in a life-saving exercise when the shark approached. ‘To be honest, there is a very fine line between being scared and being amazed, and I think I was kind of on both sides,’ says Hassiem. He survived, but others were not so fortunate. Of the five serious shark incidents in False Bay between 2003 and 2006, two were fatal. ‘To be honest, there is a very fine line between being scared and being amazed, and I think I was kind of on both sides,’ says Hassiem.

He survived, but others were not so fortunate. Of the five serious shark incidents in False Bay between 2003 and 2006, two were fatal.