Whales seek refuge in southern bay hours before shark attack
WATCH THE VIDEO: A humpback whale and her calf were spotted taking refuge in the protected bay waters off Coochiemudlo Island, hours before a fatal shark attack at the Gold Coast.
Logan
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Whale watchers will be out in force again this morning after spotting a humpback whale and her calf off Coochiemudlo Island yesterday, hours before a fatal shark attack at the Gold Coast yesterday afternoon.
The whales were spotted in the protected waters of the southern bay just hours before 46-year-old surfer Nick Slater died after being attacked at Greenmount Beach just after 5pm yesterday.
Gold Coast surf beaches are closed today as beaches are patrolled until 5pm today.
The whales were swimming north on their annual migration and were spotted off Blakesley's Anchorage at North Stradbroke Island early this morning.
Coochiemudlo Island resident Ian Rowland said it was extremely rare for whales to venture this far south into the southern bay as the waters were too warm and too shallow near the islands.
But locals said the mother whale may have sought protection in the southern bay from predators, such as large sharks.
Coochie Ferry deckhand Tim Flomersfeld snapped off a round of photos and another island resident took the video of the pair frolicking in waters near the red buoy marker off Coochie’s Norfolk Beach.
The red buoy was the channel marker for the Catalina Flying Boats which docked at Redland Bay Hotel in the 1950s.
The huge Sunderlands would land at Redland Bay during bad weather as an alternative to flying to Sydney.