Great white shark stalks jet skier in Royal National Park, south of Sydney

An experienced spearfisherman has recounted how sharks have approached his stationary jetski in the Royal National Park, south of Sydney, on three occasions and warned another fatal attack could be only a matter of time.

Shark encounters are on the rise in Sydney waters and fisheries need to do something before someone else dies according to spearfishermen.

Men who fish in waters off the coast have gone from seeing a handful of sharks a year to almost daily sightings, including having great white circling them.

On NSW’s mid north coast a man’s canoe was last week bitten in half, and a swimmer was mauled to death near Maroubra in February.

Experienced spearfisherman Emanuel Bova said a 3m great white shark stalked his jetski last Friday near the Royal National Park, south of Sydney.

“I’ve been spearfishing for 38 years and this was my third in recent times,” he said. “The population growth of great whites has exploded in the past 10 years.

A 3m white shark stalked Emanuel Bova near the Royal National Park near Sydney last Friday. Picture: Emanuel Bova

“You have to be wary these days whilst in the water, not just when spearfishing.

“One day it could be a swimmer, surfer, scuba diver, kayaker or a kid at the beach with their family, these sharks are capable of attacking in very shallow water.”

Simon Nellist was killed in a shark attack at Little Bay earlier this year.

He said a management plan to control numbers should be seriously considered.

“It’s a bit of a sensitive topic but I’m all for managing the population of white sharks because their numbers are increasing rapidly and there’s going to be more and more people getting killed,” Mr Bova said.

Mr Bova said a great white snuck up on him while he was on his jet ski. Picture: Emanuel Bova

The latest push for more shark protection comes from the Waverley Council mayor and Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch, who both explored the idea of removing shark nets at their respective beaches.

NSW Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders said there was no scientific evidence to back up the anecdotal sightings of more sharks in NSW however DPI was continuing its drumlins program to keep swimmer’s as safe as possible.

“In this year’s budget, the NSW Government announced a record $85 million in funding over the next four years as part of an enhanced shark management program, the most comprehensive in the world,” he said.

Experienced waterman Jeff Carpenter, from NSW’s north coast, said DPI efforts were not doing nearly enough to protect swimmers.

“That money (the NSW DPI invested) has not stopped attacks, or given the experts the courage to explain this unmanaged, out-of-control conservative success story to the ocean-going public and explaining the horrific human safety consequences,” he said.

He questioned the DPI’s drum line strategy and urged DPI scientists to speak up.

“Endless hooking and tagging is a Band-Aid and not a real long-term solution,” he said.

“DPI shark biologists … should offer life insurance policies to the boardriding community as a payment after one of their totem species treats a NSW surfer like beef jerky.”

Among the councils that have adopted the DPI’s drum line strategy is Randwick City Council, whose territory covers the area of Little Bay where Simon Nellist was fatally mauled by a large great white shark in February.