Fears of horror shark season

Authorities are bracing for a horror shark season this summer amid mounting concerns attacks are on the rise across the country.

The scene of the fatal shark attack at Shelly Beach near Coffs Harbour on Sunday. Picture: Frank Redward

Authorities are bracing for a horror shark season amid concern attacks are on the rise, following a fatal mauling on NSW’s north coast on Sunday that has ignited debate around the use of shark deterrent nets.

The death of Timothy Thompson, who bled td eath after his arm was severed in an attack while surfing at Shelly Beach near Coffs Harbour, marks an ominous start to the summer, after eight fatalities were recorded nationally last season, significantly up from the usual one or two deaths.

His pregnant wife, Katie Thompson, paid tribute to the ­father-to-be who told her “I love you two” before he walked out the door for the last time, and thanked the surfers and emergency crews who ran to his aid but were unable to save him.

“My heart aches for our baby who will never get to meet you,” she said. “You would have been the best daddy.

“I promise to tell our baby every day how amazing their daddy was, how you never spoke a bad word about anybody, how kind and caring you were and, most importantly, how much you loved that little bubba growing in my tummy.”

NSW’s Department of Primary Industries will unveil details of its summer shark management program within weeks, which will include measures such as netting, deploying SMART drumlines, “listening stations” that send out alerts when a tagged shark approaches and drone patrols.

“If you look at the statistics, there has been a slow increase in attacks on a low baseline over many years, but what the underlying reason is remains unclear,” Macquarie University shark expert Culum Brown said.

Ballina mayor David Wright said drone patrols would recommence within weeks as the school holidays approached, and would accompany the use of SMART drumlines, which capture sharks using bait, so authorities can tag and track the creatures after they’re released.

Mr Wright said receptor stations, which “listen out” for tagged sharks, were active in the area, had been brought in as part of a suite of measures in the past four years that have drastically reduce shark attacks, after a string of horrifying high-profile attacks plagued the region.