A man has died of his "catastrophic injuries" after being bitten by a shark. It is the first fatal shark attack off the coast of Sydney in decades.
Authorities in New South Wales have tried to reduce fatalities and introduced a warning systemImage: David Gray/REUTERS
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Australian police said they had retrieved human remains from the water after a shark attack off a Sydney beach on Wednesday.
The incident is the first such attack to claim a life off the city's coast in almost 60 years.
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What happened?
Witnesses told local media they had seen the attack on a swimmer off the eastern suburb beach of Little Bay.
One man who was fishing off nearby rocks told national broadcaster ABC he saw the victim, who was wearing a wetsuit, dragged underwater by the predator.
"When he went down there were so many splashes. It was terrible. I am shaking," he said, describing several seconds of the attack.
According to witnesses, the victim was attacked by a 4.5-meter (15-foot) great white shark.
"This person had suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of the attack and there was nothing paramedics could do when we arrived on scene,'' said New South Wales state Ambulance Inspector Lucky Phrachnanh.
Authorities in the local government area of Randwick closed down surrounding beaches for 24 hours while they patroled to assess the danger, with lifeguards patroling to look for sharks in the meantime.
"To lose someone in a shark attack like this is chilling," said Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker. "We are all in shock."
Police said they would work alongside state government officials responsible for the waters to investigate the circumstances of the fatality.
Shark nets in South Africa threaten sea life
To protect swimmers from attacks, shark nets have been deployed along South Africa's most popular beaches. But the net also poses a danger to sea animals that swim too close to the "curtains of death."
Image: Michele Spatari/AFP
Surf's up
A surfer hits the waves at Durban's North Beach. Occasional shark sightings aren't unusual at this popular swimming and surfing spot. The ocean predators first gained a bad reputation in the 1950s when a string of deadly attacks scared people away from the white sand beaches in KwaZulu-Natal province. Today, more than 6 million tourists visit the pristine coastline annually.
Image: Michele Spatari/AFP
Warning sign
The shark-warning flag is raised at Muizenberg beach, which is part of False Bay. The black flag indicates visibility in the water is poor, which means sharks lingering close to the shore may not be spotted.
Image: Rodger Bosch/AFP
A safety net?
In a bid to protect swimmers — and assuage fears — 37 beaches spanning an area of more than 300 kilometers in the Durban area are now lined with nets and baited drum lines. While it may offer peace of mind to some holidaymakers, conservationists argue the nets could prove fatal for any large animal that swims too close. Dolphins, dugongs, sea turtles and whales are especially at risk.
Image: Rodger Bosch/AFP
Trapped in the 'curtains of death'
Shark activist Walter Bernardis pulls at a shark net anchor during a dive off the small coastal town of Umkomaas, near Durban. Two parallel nets set on baited hooks create an aquatic trap. "They're basically curtains of death," Bernardis says. Although the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province hasn't reported a deadly attack for 67 years, at least 400 sharks suffocate in the nets each year.
Image: Michele Spatari/AFP
Controversial methods
A KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board Maritime Centre of Excellence (KZNSB) boat crew head out to service shark nets off the coast near Durban. KZNSB's shark control program has been strongly criticized by environmentalists. Although species like the great white shark are protected in South Africa, the KZNSB is allowed to kill them. The organization has also installed shark nets in Marine Protected Areas.
Image: Michele Spatari/AFP
A flawed system
Dead sharks are often found in the shark nets off the coast of Durban. Scientists and conservationists claim that shark nets do not improve ocean safety as much as expected. Divers have witnessed animals swimming under the mesh, which is only around six meters deep. Most get stuck on their way back from the shoreline, rather than the other way around.
Image: Jeffrey Rotman/OKAPIA KG/picture alliance
Swimming with the sharks
Tourists' fascination with the apex predators remains high. Some resorts such as the Blue Ocean Dive Resort offer divers the chance to swim with black-tip sharks and tiger sharks. Aliwal Shoal, a fossilised sand dune that lies about 4 kilometers offshore from Umkomaas, is one of the few places in the world where visitors can dive without a cage.
Image: Michele Spatari/AFP
Misguided fear
A diver shakes a sardines bait during a baited shark dive. Only five out of hundreds of shark species are considered dangerous to humans, including bull and tiger sharks. Figures suggest the predators rarely attack humans, regardless of whether nets are used as a barrier. According to records from the Univeristy of Florida, only around 100 shark attacks were reported globally in 2019.
Image: Michele Spatari/AFP
A rare sighting
A wild shark sighting is far from guaranteed. A few years ago, tour companies had to change the name of their activity from "tiger shark dive" because sightings of the species had become so rare. Environmentalists and divers blame the decrease on the shark control measures which have been around since the 1950s.
Image: Michele Spatari/AFP
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How common are shark attacks?
A database compiled by the Taronga Conservation Society said there were three fatal shark attacks in Australia last year, two of which were in New South Wales.
Until now, there had been no fatal shark attacks so far in 2022 in the state, the society's database showed.
Records show that the last death from a shark bite in Sydney was in 1963, when an individual who was bitten by a bull shark while "standing in the water" died.
New South Wales' state government has spent millions of dollars on technology in an effort to reduce shark attacks along its coast.
It has deployed nets at 51 beaches, as well as drones and shark listening stations. They are used to track white sharks by satellite and send alerts when one is sighted.
Worldwide, there were 11 shark-related fatalities in 2021, according to the International Shark Attack File, nine of which were assigned as unprovoked, meaning that the human had not initiated contact with the animal.
While the United States records the highest numbers of shark attacks off its waters each year, Australia regularly has the highest number of attacks that result in deaths.
