Shark Spotters is a proactive, early warning shark safety service provided at strategic beaches around Cape Town, primarily in False Bay, where there is a high spatial overlap between people and sharks. It uses continuous visual surveillance by trained observers (spotters) to detect sharks and prevent negative interactions between sharks and recreational water users.

At each spotting location, one spotter is placed at an elevated position (usually a mountain) with polarised sunglasses and binoculars, and scans the ocean continuously, looking for sharks and other marine activity. This spotter is in radio contact with another spotter on the beach. When a shark is seen the mountain spotter informs the beach spotter who sets off a siren and raises the white flag, signalling to water users to leave the water and only return when the appropriate all clear signal is given. Shark Spotters uses a system of four informative flags on every beach to communicate the current shark status and spotting conditions to the public. The spotters reduce the risk of shark attack by monitoring shark activity and preventing the spatial overlap of sharks and water users at popular beaches.

Polarised sunglasses are used to cut out the glare from the sun reflecting on the surface of the ocean. Binoculars are used to zoom in on animals spotted from the mountain.