NEW warning signs to increase shark awareness have been erected on Cape Town beaches, the city said yesterday.

'These signs seek to increase awareness of the presence of sharks (great white sharks in particular),' spokesperson Sakhile Tsotsobe said.

He said the City of Cape Town, in conjunction with the Shark Spotters Programme, had designed three new signs to improve shark safety.

'Significant improvements have been made to the shark warning system used by shark spotters and the city urges the public to familiarise themselves with this system,' mayoral committee member for community services Brett Herron said.

There are a lot of changes in the new signs.

All flags now have a shark printed on them to ensure that beach users are able to differentiate between the shark spotting flags and other, unrelated flags.

Signs indicating a 'high risk' have been placed on Jaggers Walk at Fish Hoek Beach - the site of the most recent shark attacks.

But beach users are reminded to always be vigilant and exercise caution when they swim at any beach.

The Red Flag now indicates a general shark alert and is raised when a shark has been observed in the area in the past two hours.

This flag will be lowered only when the alert is no longer necessary and will be flown in conjunction with one of the other spotting flags.