Hi! I actually have a friend originally from Porto Allegre who now lives here in Cape Town. It is as you say - he struggles to want to surf anywhere but the most crowded places because the shark risk of surfing less crowded places seems too much for him - too spooky! I'm more of an introvert and love to surf alone (or at least with few enough people that everyone gets waves)!

South Africa does have sharks - great whites in these colder waters, and then tiger and zambezi sharks further East in the warmer waters as well. Lately some of the great white populations have cleared out and run away from Cape Town because they are being eaten by Killer Whales! Not really a comforting replacement!

I think as a Brazilian you can appreciate the idea that you are probably still safer in the water than on land (car accidents or crime... my good friend was killed in a botched hi-jacking after getting out of the water after a surf...). Still, there are some places in South Africa I would think twice about surfing because of shark risk - but not many, and none in Cape Town. Are there any precautions? Durban has shark nets far out enough to protect surfers there - Cape Town only has a shark net at one swimming beach with no waves...

What many of Cape Town's most popular spots do have: is a shark spotting person who is watching down into the water from the cliffs above with binoculars, who will then sound an alarm and raise a flag if he spots a shark. I've had to get out of the water at the most popular beach a few times now!