Fisherman shocked to reel in huge bull shark in Sydney Harbour
Two young fishermen hauled in a giant bull shark in Sydney Harbour last week - here’s why there’s an influx of the apex predators this time of the year.
Sydney Harbour is teeming with huge bull sharks enjoying the warm water after a bumper breeding season.
The Department of Primary Industries, which tracks the movements of the apex predators by tagging and releasing them, shared a photo of one particularly menacing bull shark tagged in the harbour over the weekend.
“Who has heard the chatter about bull sharks in Sydney Harbour recently?” the Department wrote alongisde a photo of the shark to the backdrop of the city skyline.
Bull sharks are typically found in Sydney Harbour during summer and autum when water temperatures are above 20C.
Once the water cools down they leave the harbour and head north to Queensland.
Experts say the wet La Niña summer likely led to an increase in bull sharks’ numbers with swollen rivers and creeks sending food into estuaries.
“Particularly in summer, we certainly do start to see more sharks, particularly bull sharks in coastal waters,” Bond University associate professor of environmental science Daryl McPhee told the ABC.
“It’s a very productive time [after rain] and we see lots of sharks because there’s good feed on offer.”
Two young fishermen unexpectedly found themselves reeling in a huge bull shark in Sydney last week.
Incredible footage posted to TikTok shows something powerful in the water take Hassan Alameri’s bait and a struggle ensues as he tries to reel the catch in.
His friend can be heard laughing in disbelief.
“Look at that!” he tells Mr Alameri.
A separate video then shows the pair wrestling with the bull shark, estimated to be about 2.5 metres in length, by the shore after they’ve managed to bring it in.
One of the men was even game enough to lift its jaw to check out rows of razor-sharp teeth.
It was a spectacular scene with a backdrop of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Mr Alameri told The Daily Telegraph they had been using eel strips while fishing at Birchgrove Ferry wharf, and he had actually caught over ten bull sharks in Sydney with this being the third largest.
“It’s such an adrenaline rush seeing such a big creature come out, it’s quite the fight too, I wasn’t quite ready for it,” the 23-year-old said.
He said as a recreational fisherman he caught and released his catches.
“You can see in the video that the shark is always in the water, it always has water running over its gills, it was on the bank for a maximum two to three minutes. It’s important not to play around with these animals,” he said.
Bull sharks have a reputation for being aggressive and will eat almost anything they see, including fish, dolphins, and even other sharks.
They often attack people inadvertently or out of curiosity, according to National Geographic.
On the other side of the country, terrifying pictures have shown a huge white shark lurking in the ocean just metres from the shore less than an hour after a young woman was bitten on the torso in Western Australia.
The 20-year-old was using an inflatable pool ring less than 200m from shore at Kelp Beds in Wylie Bay near Esperance on Sunday when she was attacked.
She remains in a serious but stable condition at Royal Perth Hospital.
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