School of 15 hammerhead sharks shut down Palm Beach in Sydney

A popular Sydney beach has been evacuated and closed after a school of up to 15 sharks was spotted metres from the flags.

An iconic Sydney beach was closed after a school of up to 15 hammerhead sharks was sighted just metres away from swimmers between the flags.

The shark alarm was sounded about 1:00pm at Palm Beach, where Home and Away is filmed, and those in the water were urged to get out of the water.

Lifeguards scrambled to close the beach and jumped onto jet skis to patrol the water to ensure no one was injured, according to a Northern Beaches Council spokesperson.

The sharks were up to two feet long.

A school of 10-15 hammerhead sharks were spotted swimming at Palm Beach, forcing swimmers to evacuate from the water. Photo: Getty

The sharks were around two feet long and were spotted near the flags. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

The beach was closed for around one hour and the flags were taken down to dissuade swimmers from entering the water.

Lifeguards reopened the beach after the sharks left the area.

There have been multiple sightings of hammerhead sharks at Palm Beach, with a single shark spotted on the iconic beach just a week ago.

There has never been a recorded human fatality from a hammerhead shark in Australia, according the Australian Marine Conservation Society website.

Three types of hammerhead sharks are found in NSW waters – the scalloped hammerhead, smooth hammerhead and the great hammerhead, with most thought to be non-aggressive.

Debate is now raging about whether shark nets are necessary, after the large school was spotted at netted Palm Beach. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

The event has renewed debate on the use of shark nets in NSW, with some saying sightings should not cause alarm.

There are 15 shark nets on the Northern Beaches between Palm Beach and Manly.

“With all the new drones that the beach patrols have these days they can monitor the sharks, shark nets only tangle up other sea life,” one person said on social media.

“Sharks being sharks in their own environment, who would have thought?” another said.

Nets Out Now, an organisation committed to eradicating shark nets, argue that mesh nets provide a “false sense of security” while destroying the local ecosystem.

Around 19,000 animals including rays, dolphins, turtles and sharks have been killed in nets since 1937 according to the Australian Marine Conservation Society. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Northern Beaches Council has sought to remove shark nets from its beaches, voting in April 2021 to phase out the controversial nets.

However, the NSW Department of Primary Industries committed to a new shark management program in September 2021, tripling funding to more than $21 million.

NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said at the time there was “no silver bullet” in protecting beachgoers from sharks.

“The NSW Government will now be operating the world’s largest shark management program aiming to get the balance right, between keeping swimmers and surfers safe, and protecting our marine life” he said.

“We will also continue the deployment of shark nets as part of the Shark Meshing Program in the Greater Sydney Region while we measure the success of the expanded technology-led solutions.”