Multiple sharks were spotted in the water, prompting the closure of Malua Bay Beach. Photo: Batemans Bay SLSC.
Multiple large sharks spotted in waist-deep water off the NSW South Coast have reignited questions about off-season safety, with local surf lifesavers warning they can’t monitor every stretch of coastline.
Seven sharks were seen circling in waters off Malua Bay Beach, leading to a temporary closure earlier this week. The following day, a tagged great white was recorded at the same beach.
Batemans Bay Surf Lifesaving Club president Kate Hunt said the area had been recording “a lot more” sharks recently.
“It doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened before, but I’ve never seen it,” she told Region.
Ms Hunt said she was unsure if there were more sharks in the area or if expanded tracking methods (such as drone use and shark tagging) simply made them easier to detect.
“That’s where sharks live, so we shouldn’t really be surprised they’re there,” she said of the ocean. “The surprise is how close they’re coming into shore.”
A particularly mild summer on the South Coast has seen more people braving a winter dip, but beaches are largely unmonitored at this time of the year.
Earlier this year, the State Government announced a $34 million package to expand shark-spotting drone technology.
Eurobodalla Shire falls under Surf Life Saving NSW’s Southern Zone, which also takes in the Bega Valley and Shoalhaven areas, as well as the Illawarra.
Ms Hunt said the funding meant regional areas would have extra drone surveillance at patrolled beaches, with Malua Bay Beach to have weekend coverage until spring.
But while they’re a useful tool to protect surfers and swimmers, full-time drone use isn’t something that can be adopted across the more than 80 beaches the club serves.
“It’s physically impossible – and financially it’s not a realistic or viable option – to have drones [covering all their beaches].”
Malua Bay Beach was closed this week after multiple shark sightings. Photo: Batemans Bay SLSC/Facebook.
Ms Hunt said the decision to close Malua Bay Beach on Monday was expected to be a one-off.
She pushed back on the possibility of adding winter patrols to the club’s workload, in light of the sightings.
She described her volunteers as experiencing burnout and already dealing with busy summers and the tourist rush.
“That’s not something that we really have the capacity to monitor … We just don’t have the numbers,” she said.
“All we can do is educate the community and put some preventive measures in place … and keep monitoring.”
The beach is open again, but Ms Hunt urged swimmers to be aware.
“It’s one of those things where we’ve been incredibly lucky not to have an incident, so it’s very much a precaution,” she said.
“Every second matters in one of those emergency situations.”
Ms Hunt said shark bite kits, which contain critical supplies to use after an attack, were now available. The club has purchased 30, with two already installed at Malua Bay.
After the first alerts came in from surfers on Monday morning (13 July), Batemans Bay Surf Lifesaving Club asked people to stay away from the water.
“It’s a marvellous morning at Malua Bay Beach today but we’ve spotted multiple BIG sharks in waist deep water & have closed the beach,” the club posted.
“It’s not safe. Please don’t go in the water today.”
Shark tracking website Dorsal listed a visit from a shark in the waters off Malua Bay just after 12 pm on Monday (13 July), followed by a tagged white shark in the early hours of Tuesday morning (14 July).
Sharks were also spotted close to shore near Ulladulla, where they were chasing “bait balls”. When there are large numbers of bait fish, it’s natural for sharks to follow chasing the food source.
Shark bite kits, which contain critical supplies to use after an attack, are now available at Malua Bay. Photo: Kim Treasure.
South Coast-based roofer Chris was one of the many people who went to Malua Bay to see if he could spot the sharks this week.
Even though he headed to the beach several hours after the initial alert went out on Monday, he said crowds were gathered on the shore.
“I knew they were there – it wasn’t a shock. I went over at smoko and got a coffee,” he told Region.
[Even then] I saw there were a fair few people looking into the water.”
His drone footage was widely shared on social media.
Ms Hunt said those crowds were expected, with people wanting to “stickybeak” and see if they could spot a shark from the shoreline.
Original Article published by Claire Sams on About Regional.
