I'm a professional shark spotter. It took time to get confident at it – this is what I've learned.

• Naveron Lesch gave up working on traditional fishing boats to work as shark spotter in South Africa.
• He works six-hour shifts in summer and five-hour shifts in winter watching the ocean.
• This is what the job is like and how he reacts to shark sightings.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Naveron Lesch, a 35-year-old professional shark spotter in Cape Town, South Africa. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I come from the fishing community of Ocean View, on the Cape Peninsula, so I have a long connection to the sea. I grew up there and started off fishing with my uncles, diving for crayfish and abalone, when it was still legal.