By Rebecca Peppiatt and Andrew Du
Locals have called for better warnings about sharks on Perth beaches after it took authorities nearly two hours to close Whitfords beach following a swimmer’s dangerously close encounter last week.
Kate Young was swimming last Monday when she noticed a drone flying close to her in the water. Initially concerned about what the operator was doing, Young later learned they were trying to warn her about a nearby shark.
“I felt a little bit nervous, I thought it was quite intrusive, so I decided to get out of the water,” she told 9News Perth.
“And then I noticed the drone fly closer to the water and just slightly head north, and I thought, ‘That drone’s not watching me, that drone’s watching something in the water’. So I watched it, and then I saw the shark, the fin of the shark, come up out of the water.
“That’s when I realised I was just so close to a tiger shark.”
Young posted about her close encounter on Facebook and was contacted by Curtis Ramsay, a wildlife videographer who frequents the beach with his drone.
He showed Young the footage he had captured of her with the shark, affectionately dubbed ‘Trevor’ by locals.
“It raised a fair bit of awareness for me around what to do if you are swimming,” she said.
“There are a lot of sharks around at the moment. I think our local mascot, Trev, has brought his family to come and meet everyone in Mullaloo and Whitfords, so it was a really interesting learning curve for me.”
The warm summer water has seen an increase in tiger sharks coming to the beach and while experts said they were generally not a large threat to people, they were still a wild animal to keep clear of.
Ramsay claimed he raised the alarm that sharks were in the area that day, but said the response was slow, with authorities taking over and hour to close the beach.
‘Trevor’ the shark’s visit to Mullaloo beach has been captured by wildlife photographer Curtis Ramsay.Credit: Curtis Ramsay
In a statement, the City of Joondalup said it was notified of a shark sighting at Whitfords Beach via email from SharkSmart at 6.55am. They said a field officer attended the location and the beach was closed at 8.15am, acknowledging it took longer than usual because the alert came through while safety and vehicle checks were occurring.
“I think the goal now would be for signs to let people know of increased shark activity,” Ramsay said.
“Not that I’m fearful that anything’s going to happen, I can see that tiger sharks have no interest in people, but it won’t take much for an accident to happen; someone splashes somewhere they shouldn’t, a dog jumps in the water, someone throws a ball in where they shouldn’t, and they don’t know, they’ve got no awareness. There’s no signs, no notifications.”
While the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter patrols Perth beaches looking for sharks in the area, Surf Life Saving WA general manager Chris Pack said 16 surf life saving clubs across the state also had drones in operation for surveillance of marine hazards, such as sharks.
He added that locals could do their bit to stay safe too.
“What’s really important to keep you and your family safe when you go to the beach is make sure that you’ve downloaded the SharkSmart app so you get real-time information about where sightings have been today or over the last week, and make sure that if you do see a shark, you report it into the Water Police,” he said.
With 9News Perth