Sydneysiders warned to ‘stay out of the water’ after shark attack

Experts have urged Sydneysiders to brace for a “cluster” of shark bites this summer after Lauren O’Neill was attacked in the harbour.

Sydneysiders have been warned to stay out of the water after a near-deadly shark attack with more bites expected this summer, experts have warned.

The predators are rife in the harbour this time of year, feeding off surface-dwelling fish like salmon, bonito and mackerel tuna.

In the day they lurk in 40m “holes” in the harbour before coming up to the surface to feed at night.

The most dangerous time to swim is as dusk or at night when bull sharks are most likely to be hunting in the shallows.

On Monday evening, 29-year-old microbiologist Lauren O’Neill almost lost a leg after being bitten by a bull shark while she was swimming outside of the netted area in Elizabeth Bay.

Lauren O'Neill almost lost a leg after being bitten by a bull shark on Monday. Pictured from her LinkedIn profile.

Thanks to some lifesaving first aid by local vet Fiona Crago, Ms O’Neill survived the attack.

Sydney Institute of Marine Science shark tracker Yuri Niella told The Daily Telegraph that the harbour was a “big buffet” for bull sharks.

“The fact they come back here every year is because they know there’s plenty of food,” Dr Niella said.

NSW DPI shark scientist Amy Smoothey said bull sharks are most prevalent in two areas of the harbour.

These are the triangle of water between Kirribilli, Garden Island and the Opera House, and up Parramatta River near Glades Bay.

There have also been reports of juvenile bull sharks in the Hawkesbury River.

Ms O’Neill’s ordeal has sparked warnings for Sydneysiders to get out of the water as shark bites are known to happen in clusters.

A bull shark being tagged in Sydney Harbour. (via Mosman Collective)

Screen grabs from a Tik Tok video of a large bull shark caught in Sydney Harbour. @hassanalameri32

University of Sydney shark management expert Christopher Pepin-Neff said there is no evidence that the population of bull sharks in the harbour has grown but warmer temperatures does mean that shark activity is higher.

“Shark bites often happen in clusters, so we need to be very careful for the rest of the summer,” he told the Telegraph.

“On hot summer days, baitfish come to the surface of the water, and the bull sharks follow.

“Water temperatures are high and this is a warning to make sure that we don’t have a cluster.”

In the wake of the latest attack, Sydneysiders have been warned to stay out of the water.

Queensland-based environmental scientist Daryl McPhee said swimmers should wait to swim outside the nets until they are advised it is safe by the government.

“While the risk of a shark bite is extremely low, I advise people to stay out of Sydney Harbour waters until further notice by the government,” he said.

Neighbours rush to help Lauren O’Neill who was attacked by a shark in Elizabeth Bay on Monday night. Instagram.

City of Sydney Councillor Linda Scott also said she was “extremely concerned” to hear about the attack.

“Please, stay out of the harbour until further notice,” she said on social media.

Shark attack victim’s leg is saved

Ms O’Neill was having an evening swim near a private wharf in Elizabeth Bay around 7.45pm on Monday when she was bitten on the leg by a suspected bull shark, screaming out to neighbours to help her.

Elizabeth Bay resident Michael Porter was one of the neighbours that rushed in to help and said Ms O’Neill was lucky to survive the ordeal.

In a stroke of luck, local vet Fiona Crago had just purchased a set of bandages that very day and used them to perform a tourniquet.

The attack happened at Elizabeth Bay in Sydney. Instagram.

It is thought Ms O’Neill was swimming outside of the nets.

“The fact she had the bandages, it’s just such a fluke. So lucky. I’m not sure she would have survived without Fiona,” he told news.com.au.

“There was just so much blood loss. There was so much blood in the water that fish were all going off and jumping around in the area. [Fiona] was just incredible.”

Porter had just gotten home from work and had sat down on the couch when he heard the woman’s cries for help.

“The water was just red. She had just managed to prop herself up on the pool and her leg was just limping, sort of trailing behind her,” he said.

“I’m still in shock really, I couldn’t even imagine Lauren is feeling after everything is happened.”

Ms O’Neill suffered “serious injuries” but hero surgeons at St Vincent’s Hospital managed to save the limb.

Extra surgeons were drafted in to save Ms O’Neill’s leg and she is expected to remain in the intensive care unit of the hospital for the next few days.

Ms O’Neill’s mother Petra thanked Ms Crago, who helped save her daughter’s life.

“It means a lot that the community was there at the critical moment to render assistance, in particular the veterinary nurse … shows what a lovely community you are,” Mrs O’Neill wrote online.

The last fatal shark attack in Sydney was British expat Simon Nellist in 2022.

Nellist, a 35-year-old diving instructor, was killed by a shark while swimming at Little Bay near Malabar in February 2022.

Nellist’s death was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney in nearly 60 years.

In 1963, actress Marcia Hathaway was attacked while wading in Sugarloaf Bay near Middle Harbour.

One of the most famous attacks in Sydney Harbour occurred in 2010 when navy diver Paul de Gelder was attacked by a three-metre bull shark during a routine anti-terrorism training exercise off Garden Island in 2010.He survived, but his hand was severed in the near-fatal mauling and doctors were later forced to amputate his right leg above the knee.