Four Shark Incidents in Three Days Close New South Wales Beaches; Officials Urge Swimmers to 'Use a Pool'

A string of four shark incidents across New South Wales over three days has prompted widespread beach closures and stern warnings for swimmers and surfers to avoid the open ocean and use local pools instead.

Police said the latest incident occurred around 9 a.m. at Point Plomer, about 290 miles north of the New South Wales state capital, when a shark struck a 39-year-old man's surfboard. Kempsey-Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club captain Matt Worrall said the surfer was fortunate to escape with only minor cuts.

'The board seemed to take most of the impact,' Worrall told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. 'He made his own way into shore where he was assisted by locals.'

Bystanders drove the man to a nearby hospital; he was treated and later discharged.

Earlier Attacks Around Sydney

Earlier incidents over the weekend around Sydney were more severe. On Sunday a 12-year-old boy who had jumped from a 20-foot ledge known as Jump Rock near Shark Beach in Sydney Harbour was attacked. Police credited the boy's friends with saving his life after they jumped from the cliff, dragged him to shore and provided immediate aid. News reports indicate the boy suffered catastrophic injuries and lost both legs.

On Monday around noon, an 11-year-old at Dee Why Beach had a surfboard bitten by a shark but was unharmed. Later that evening, a man in his 20s was bitten on the leg off North Steyne Beach in Manly and was taken to hospital in critical condition; bystanders pulled him from the water.

All three Sydney beaches involved have some form of shark-protection netting, but authorities said it was not immediately clear how the attacks related to that netting. The site of the most recent attack at Point Plomer was isolated and reportedly had no netting in place.

Response And Risks

Beaches along New South Wales' northern coast and northern Sydney were closed. Officials announced a 48-hour closure for Sydney's northern beaches and deployed electronic drumlines — baited systems that alert authorities when a large shark takes the bait — off the Sydney coast.

Authorities warned that recent heavy rainfall has left nearshore waters murky, increasing the likelihood of bull shark activity. Bull sharks are responsible for most attacks around Sydney.

'If anyone's thinking of heading into the surf this morning anywhere along the northern beaches, think again,' Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce said. 'We have such poor water quality that's really conducive to some bull shark activity. If you're thinking about going for a swim, just go to a local pool because at this stage, we're advising that beaches are unsafe.'

Context

Australia has a long history of shark incidents: a database of predator-human encounters records more than 1,280 incidents since 1791, with over 250 fatalities. The International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida noted that a disproportionate share of fatal shark-bite cases in 2023 occurred in Australia compared with other countries.

The recent cluster follows several fatal attacks in the region during the past year, including the suspected white shark killing of 57-year-old surfer Mercury Psillakis last September and the death of a 25-year-old Swiss tourist in November. There have also been recent shark fatalities abroad, including two Americans in the past month and a confirmed Monterey Bay victim in California earlier this year.

Authorities are urging people to heed warnings, avoid swimming in murky coastal waters, respect beach closures, and use supervised pools while investigations and monitoring continue.