source : the age
Beaches in Sydney’s eastern suburbs are closed again after another shark sighting in the area.
The sighting on Thursday makes three consecutive days that beaches that have been closed after sharks were seen in the water.
“Waverley Council lifeguards advise that all beaches in their local government area are closed following a sighting of a white shark at Bondi Beach,” the state government’s SharkSmart app warned on Thursday.
Waverley’s beaches include Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama.
The closure comes after the latest sighting in the area.
“Third day running,” Jason Iggleden, who has been posting footage of sharks on Sydney beaches via the online platform dronesharkapp said on Thursday.
“Great white shark at Bondi Beach please stay out of the water,” he wrote.
Maroubra Beach in Randwick Council was also evacuated and closed after a shark was sighted just before 9.30am.
The sightings come after Leah Stewart, 35, was mauled by a shark at Coogee Beach earlier in June, prompting further concerns over shark mitigation and management.
Further shark mitigation efforts have been cited as one potential way a $1.1 billion contingencies fund announced in the NSW state budget on Tuesday could be spent.
Stewart underwent repeat surgeries including an arm amputation, before she was able to wake from an induced coma to tell her family she loved them.
“Leah has a long road ahead and still remains in critical care, but this is such a positive first step and gives us hope for Leah’s long-term recovery,” her brother Joshua wrote in an update to an online fundraiser set up to support Stewart.
Some have called for a lethal response to the recent shark attack and an uptick in sightings.
“We’re not talking about decimating or making a species go extinct. We’re just there to control the populations,” the twin brother of shark attack victim Mercury Psillakis told the Herald earlier in June.
Premier Chris Minns has hinted at a potential cull of bull sharks but noted white sharks are a protected species.
Bull sharks typically migrate north in the winter, returning south in the summer. White sharks are more active on the NSW coast between May and November.
Shark nets are used at 51 NSW beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong in spring and summer, but were removed at the end of March and are not due to go back in until September.
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Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
