Sharks close beaches but championships go on

Sharks stalking the Newcastle coastline will shut beaches for an unprecedented ninth straight day but an attack on the NSW south coast couldn’t halt a nearby surf lifesaving event.

Daily Telegraph. Newcastle beaches on their seventh consecutive day of being closed because of shark sightings. Surfers ignore a shark sighting warning sign at Bar Beach in Newcastle.

Sharks stalking the Newcastle coastline will shut beaches for an unprecedented ninth straight day but an attack on the NSW south coast couldn’t halt a nearby surf lifesaving event.

A 5m great white, nicknamed Bruce, and a 3.5m shark that lunched on a dolphin have kept 15km of Newcastle coastline closed this weekend.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old boy was bitten on the hand by a 1.5m shark yesterday at Mollymook Beach, about three and a half hours south of Sydney.

Sam Smith was flown to a Sydney hospital with cuts to his hand sustained after he tried to film the shark while spearfishing.

But the attack didn’t stop hundreds of competitors at the NSW Country Surf Life Saving Championships at the other end of the beach.

“The carnival is just south of where the incident occurred,” a Surf Life Saving NSW spokeswoman said. “We’re just going to monitor the situation.

“We don’t feel the need to panic everyone.”

But in Newcastle, the presence of two large sharks has been enough for beach inspectors to avert the risk of an attack.

“This is a creature you don’t want to encounter,” a Newcastle council spokeswoman said.

Swimmers and surfers have been warned to keep away despite the temptation of cooling off in the summer heat.

“They are in hunting mode, we’ve seen them in the midst of attacking dolphins,” the spokeswoman said.

Beach inspectors will consider reopening beaches on Monday, but only if the sharks are not spotted for at least 24 hours and appear to have moved away.

While many swimmers have expressed frustration on social media, a Twitter account has emerged under the handle @Newy_Shark.

“Feel free to drop me a line. I’ll be waiting with baited breath,” Newy Shark tweeted.

The latest sighting was at about 9am yesterday when helicopter crews spotted a 3.5m shark near Burwood Beach.

Increased marine activity and warm weather are thought to be possible reasons for the sharks’ prolonged presence.

CSIRO shark expert Barry Bruce said the creatures were common along the NSW coastline but only got noticed when they stopped near heavily populated areas, like Newcastle.