Crittercams - small cameras used to study the behaviour of wild animals – are to be attached to Great White sharks in the sea off Fish Hoek near Cape Town in an attempt to further researchers’ understanding of why the animals use this area so extensively, particularly during the touristy summer season. The City of Cape Town’s Shark Spotting Programme has sent out an alert of 12 shark sightings over the past five days – many believed to be of the same shark – in the Fish Hoek and Clovelly area. Great Whites are a common sight in False Bay in the summer months.  Shark spotters have recorded 765 shark sightings between November 2004 and September 2010, almost all during the summer months, but researchers say they still don’t know what the sharks are doing inshore. Fish Hoek has seen two fatal shark attacks in recent years and more surf-skiers and kayakers have had run-ins with the predators there than anywhere else along the coast. With the help of the crittercam, researchers hope to discover if the sharks are hunting fish or other prey; how they are using the area; and if they are swimming near the bottom of the sea.  The Cape Town city council says the crittercam is on loan from the National Geographic Society from November until the end of February next year. Attempts will also be made to fit it on to sharks in more remote coastal areas around Macassar, Wolfgat and Strandfontein. Meanwhile, the city council has reminded beachgoers that shark spotters are on duty daily on the Sunny Cove side of Fish Hoek. However, on the Clovelly side of the bay they are only on duty on weekends and public holidays during the summer period. The city appealed to all water users to be extra vigilant, to familiarise themselves with latest shark sightings before entering the water, to obey the shark siren and to take note of the shark spotters’ flags and signage for regular updates on shark sightings.