Shark attacks no cause for worry

Recent shark attacks in Bondi, Woolloomooloo and Avalon have revived fears but experts say all were a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

On February 11, a bull shark attacked Able Seaman Paul de Gelder during a navy diving exercise, while Bondi surfer Glenn Orgias was bitten by a 2.5m white pointer, better known as a Great White.

The attack on de Gelder came at the time of the year when all bull shark bites occur (February and March) and in the early morning, the most dangerous time for shark attacks. Orgias, a Dover Heights resident, was in the water around sunset, the prime feeding time for sharks. And Andrew Lindop, 15, was attacked surfing with his father in the early hours on March 1. There have been two other sightings, one in the early morning and the other in the late afternoon.

Waverley Council’s head lifeguard coordinator, Bruce Hopkins, said that at the time of the attack Orgias was paddling back out to sea while the shark would have been rounding up fish.

“Had he not put his hand in the water when he did, the shark would have probably just swum past him,” he said.

But there does appear to be a rise in shark sightings in the last year. One theory is that this is due to an increase in the number of fish around Sydney Harbour since commercial fishing was banned. NSW Deputy Premier Carmel Tebbutt acknowledged this could lead to an increase in the number of sharks feeding in the area. Swimmers are being warned to be vigilant and to stay out of the water at dawn and dusk when there is greater risk of attack.

Shark nets are not in place to stop sharks from entering the bay but to act as a deterrent as they interrupt the shark’s swimming patterns. Nets are checked regularly by specialist contractors from the Department of Fisheries, and since their introduction in 1937, there has been only one fatal attack, at Merewether Beach in Newcastle in 1951.

Bondi Chamber of Commerce Vice-President Max Siano said he fears the Bondi attack may reduce the number of tourists to the popular beach. He says it is unlikely the number of backpackers will diminish but “day trippers” may put off coming to the beach which would impact on local businesses.

Lifeguards will continue to monitor the ocean but according to Hopkins, except for the morning after the attack when the beach was closed for two hours while lifeguards performed additional checks, beach life has been “pretty much back to normal”.

Glenn Orgias is currently in a stable condition in St Vincent’s Hospital. His attack was the first reported on Bondi beach since 1929.