Massive bull shark caught in Hastings River near holiday-makers less than a month after another monster beast reeled in

A SPOT popular with summer school holiday-makers has yielded another “beast” of a bull shark less than a month after another predator was caught nearby.

A bull shark caught in the Hastings River near Port Macquarie in an area popular with summer school holidaymakers. Recreational fishing site Yep, I'm On Fishing revealed angler Chris Micallef and his father reeled in the shark after a two-hour struggle. Picture: Yep, I'm On Fishing

BULL sharks are reaching peak concentrations in NSW waterways as summer school holiday water activities begin to hit their heights.

Southern Cross University shark researcher Dr Daniel Bucher yesterday said adult bull sharks, one of the most notorious shark species for attacks on humans, tended to venture further upstream during summer.

“They can be found all year around but it is known that females are more commonly found in estuaries during summer when they give birth,” he said.

“Males may wait around the lower estuary to intercept females as they return, so summer is the time when larger individuals are more likely to be found further ­upstream and in the estuary.’’

Last week’s heavy rain along much of the NSW coast further ­increased the risk.

Another “beast” of a bull shark was hauled from the Hastings River on the mid-north coast, one of the state’s most popular summer school holiday destinations.

Port Macquarie fisherman Chris Micallef reeled in the 3.2m shark after a two-hour struggle about 8km upstream from the mouth of the river at the weekend.

It was the fourth shark he has caught in the river, a notorious hunting ground and nursery for bull sharks, in the past month.

“I’d never seen anything that big before,” Mr Micallef said, describing how the shark started pulling his boat upstream as he fought to bring it in. Mr Micallef and his ­father had been fishing for sharks using chunks of eel as bait. “We brought it up to the surface so I could get a look at it with the torch and all you could see was its eyes and its mouth, like a scene out of Jaws,” he said.

“As soon as we saw that, we ­realised how big it was.”

The catch was less than a month after an even bigger bull shark was caught on the Hastings.

Mr Micallef said he wouldn’t dare “put a foot in the water” after seeing the numbers of bull sharks and other shark species in the river over the past few years.

“No-one understands how many there are,” he said. “I fish off the breakwall (at the river mouth) as well and you see some absolutely massive sharks there.”