Tigers prowl our beaches: ‘Biggest haul’ of Tiger sharks caught off NSW coast

Warmer ocean waters have been welcomed by swimmers and surfers, but they have attracted a deadly predator – the tiger shark.

Warmer ocean waters have been welcomed by swimmers and surfers, but they have attracted a deadly predator – the tiger shark.

Mainly found in tropical seas, government shark researchers caught a record 21 tigers last month, almost four times the number the same time last year.

The sharks were caught up and down the NSW coastline, with the majority – six – found in Port Macquarie and four each near Wollongong and Coffs Harbour.

NSW Department of Primary Industries program lead Marcel Green said it was believed the larger number of tigers were lured to NSW by the higher than usual water temperatures that had occurred in November.

“It was our biggest haul of tigers for the month,” he said.

Government shark researchers caught a record 21 tigers last month off the NSW coast.

“The sharks ranged in size from 1.6 to three metres, and were released alive as part of the shark management ­program.

NSW coastal waters will only get warmer through December and into January and February, thanks to the East Australian Current.

Tigers are listed as one of the top three threats to humans, along with Great Whites and bull sharks.

A three metre tiger killed 19-year-old surfer Zac Young near Coffs Harbour in December 2013.

The tiger sharks were caught on the 305 SMART drumlines dotted up and down the coast, which send out an alert once a shark has been hooked to enable scientists to “smart tag” the animal before releasing it.

The latest SMART drum line data obtained by The Saturday Telegraph reveal there have now been 1660 great whites, 548 tigers and 114 bull sharks caught since the shark management program began almost a decade ago.

The program had helped researchers better understand shark habits, such as the fact great whites tended to follow colder water.

Listening stations located along the coast enabled both scientists and swimmers to track tagged shark ­movements.

However, one great mystery remained – where great whites went once they matured.

Mr Green said nearly all the great whites captured along the NSW coastline were juveniles, or “teenagers” of up to three metres long.

Some of the sharks had been recaptured multiple times, such as the female “White Shark #918” who was first caught and tagged at Port Macquarie in September 2022 when she was just 1.9 metres, before being caught again in Forster two months later, and again in October the following year.

The shark popped up on a drum line again this year in July and again in Port Macquarie in October.

Mr Green said she was now 2.6 metres, and believed to be almost an adult, at which point she was likely to disappear.

“The ones we tag tend to be up to three metres. Adults can grow up to five metres. We actually don’t know exactly where the adults go,” Mr Green said.

He said the listening stations were close to the coast so did not track a shark which swam far offshore.

A tribute page was established for Coffs Harbourshark attack victim Zac Young. Picture: Facebook.

Since the start of the program, there had been more than 450 great whites captured more than once.

Like most years, the catch of white sharks was highest over the winter-spring period and on the mid-north and north coasts, and the catch of bull sharks and tigers was higher over the summer and autumn period.

Another curious discovery was how “laid-back” great whites were in their approach to the drumline bait, usually a dead mullet.

While social media had portrayed great whites leaping out of the water as they chased their prey, the sharks off the NSW coastline tended to take a relaxed approach as they ate the bait on the drumline hook.

“They just cruise up to take the lolly,” Mr Green said.

When it came to surfers and swimmers, most had recounted great whites acting aggressively before attacking, suggesting a different strategy when it came to humans, he said.

There had also been several recaptures of other sharks, such as “Tiger Shark #133” which after being first caught in Ballina in April 2020 was recaptured in Ballina in June the following year and in Port Macquarie in October 2022.

A tiger shark caught in a Smart Drumlines.

Smart Drumlines deployed off the coast of NSW caught this 3.08m female tiger shark at Joggly Point, Evans Head.

The data showed white sharks tended to be more prevalent in NSW during winter and spring, bull sharks and tiger sharks were more commonly detected in summer and autumn.

However, Mr Green said there was always “some here” still of each type of shark at any time of year.

Unlike SMART drumlines that are operated all year-round, shark nets were in the water from September 1 to April 30.

Similar to the results for SMART drumlines, the data showed the catches of whites peaked over spring, with bull and tiger sharks mainly caught over summer and autumn.

NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said swimmers should download the Sharksmart app to get up to date information on where the latest shark detections had been.

“The $21.5 million NSW Shark Management Program for 2024-25 is designed to protect the safety of beach users from the across 25 local government areas from Tweed to Bega, by reducing interactions with sharks, while minimising the impact on other marine life,” Ms Moriarty said.