News & Alerts

Update: 10am, 25 July 2016
Fisheries advise Shoalwater Bay beach has been re-opened today, following the removal of the whale carcass late Saturday.

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to a whale carcass being reported at the sandbar between Seal Island and the mainland, approximately 500 metres off shore from Shoalwater Bay in the City of Rockingham.

Alert level:
A shark WARNING has been issued for Toms Surf Break in North Beach, after a series of reports at this location during the past several days. The most recent report was made by a member of the public after midday today (Friday 22 July).

**UPDATED - CARCASS REMOVED. BEACH NOW OPEN**

A shark ADVICE remains in place for the area between Quininup and Wilyabrup, due to a whale carcass washed ashore at Honeycombs Surfing Spot, north of Gracetown earlier this week.

The carcass has now been removed,  and Honeycombs Beach has been reopened. 

Situation:
• The whale carcass was reported by a member of the public to the Department of Parks and Wildlife at approximately noon Monday.
• Although it has now been removed, it is possible some leaching from the decomposing carcass occured during clean up, will act as an attractant that could lead to sharks coming close in to shore along this stretch of coast, so water users are advised to take caution.
• While it’s not uncommon for sharks to be present off the Western Australian coast throughout the year, people should exercise additional caution while the whale carcass remains close to shore. 

A partial outage occurred this morning between 08:40am and 10:00am in the SharkSmart website element of the WA shark notification system.

Department of Fisheries has since restored the system to full operational status, and the information on the site is now fully updated.

Alert level:
At the beginning of school holidays the Department of Fisheries has issued a shark WARNING for water users in the northern suburbs of the Perth Metropolitan area, for beaches, surf and dive spots, between Hillarys Boat Harbour and Trigg Point after an increased number of reported shark sightings over the last few days.

Situation:

UPDATE 5 July:

• There have been a total of nine public sighting reports of large sharks from Thursday 30 June to Tuesday 5 July in the 2.5km stretch between Mettams Pool, and Watermans Bay.
• It is possible that the frequency and duration of the recent reported sightings may increase the likelihood of encountering a shark in this area.
• The initial warning issued on Sunday night was following seven public sighting reports of large sharks from Thursday 30 June to Sunday 3 July in the 2.5km stretch between Mettams Pool, and Watermans Bay.

What to do:

• Reconsider swimming, surfing or diving, in the area between Hillarys Boat Harbour and Trigg Point.
• In the Perth metropolitan area, don’t swim, surf or dive around large schools of fish.
• If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600. All shark sighting information reported to Water Police is provided to response agencies so beaches can be closed if needed, and is available to the public on the SharkSmart website and Surf Life Saving WA Twitter feed.
• Obey any beach closures in place.
• During winter many beaches are not patrolled fulltime, so water users need to take responsibility for their actions by staying up to date - Keep informed of the latest detection and sighting information by checking the SharkSmart website or Surf Life Saving WA’s Twitter feed.

Beaches around Mindarie – where a fatal shark incident occurred one kilometre offshore last Sunday – are open again.

The beaches that have been reopened by the City of Wanneroo are located either side of Mindarie Boat ramp - from Claytons Beach and Surf Spot south of the ramp and Quinns Beach to the north.

Although the beaches are now open again, given the severity of Sunday’s incident, the department advises water users to take additional caution in the Mindarie area.

What to do:

• Obey beach closures advised by Local Government Rangers or Surf Life Saving WA.
• Take extra caution in the area by not surfing or diving when large schools of fish are present.
• Keep informed of the latest detection and sighting information by checking the SharkSmart website or Surf Life Saving WA’s Twitter feed.
• If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600. All shark sighting information reported to Water Police is provided to response agencies so beaches can be closed if needed, and to the public on the SharkSmart website and Surf Life Saving WA Twitter feed.

Beaches around Mindarie – where a fatal shark incident occurred one kilometre offshore last Sunday – will be reopened tomorrow by the City of Wanneroo.

Beaches to be reopened are located either side of Mindarie Boat ramp - from Claytons Beach and Surf Spot south of the ramp and Quinns Beach to the north.

Although beaches will be re-opened, given the severity of Sunday’s incident, the department advises water users to take additional caution in the Mindarie area.

What to do:

• Obey beach closures advised by Local Government Rangers or Surf Life Saving WA.
• Take extra caution in the area by not surfing or diving when large schools of fish are present.
• Keep informed of the latest detection and sighting information by checking the SharkSmart website or Surf Life Saving WA’s Twitter feed.
• If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600. All shark sighting information reported to Water Police is provided to response agencies so beaches can be closed if needed, and to the public on the SharkSmart website and Surf Life Saving WA Twitter feed.

Department of Fisheries officers will continue to patrol waters around Mindarie on Thursday following a fatal shark bite incident, which occurred one kilometre offshore on Sunday.
 
Beaches in the area remain closed until further notice and swimmers, surfers and divers are advised to stay out of the water.

The Department of Fisheries will continue to monitor and patrol throughout the day, and will reassess the situation if needed.

Although no capture gear will be deployed, if sightings of a large shark in the area are reported, the department will make a further assessment at that time. The vessel will carry capture gear on board so it is able to respond if needed.

What to do:

• The City of Wanneroo has closed beaches either side of Mindarie Boat ramp, south from Claytons Beach and Surf Spot and north to Quinns Beach. Beaches will remain closed for the remainder of today and tomorrow.
• Stay out of the water in the Mindarie area until further advice is issued.
• Keep informed of the latest detection and sighting information by checking the SharkSmart website or Surf Life Saving WA’s Twitter feed.
• If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600. All shark sighting information reported to Water Police is provided to response agencies and to the public on the SharkSmart website and Surf Life Saving WA Twitter feed.

Fisheries and Marine Officers will reset shark capture gear this morning near the site of a fatal shark incident that occurred one kilometre offshore from Mindarie marina late Sunday morning.

Given the unprecedented circumstances of two fatal shark bite incidents off Perth Metropolitan Coastal Waters in the last week, the Department of Fisheries has taken a cautious approach to the safety of water users in this instance.

While weather conditions meant it was unsafe to set capture gear, and continue the fishing operation on Tuesday, the department has reassessed the situation with the changed conditions on the water and will re-deploy gear from late this morning. 

Situation:

• An order has been issued by the Director General of the Department of Fisheries to deploy capture gear in the vicinity of Sunday’s fatal shark bite incident, to fish for the shark.
• Given the nature of the injuries and the location of the incident, it is likely that a large white shark, greater than 3m in size is responsible.
• Beaches were closed by the City of Wanneroo after the incident, and beaches remain closed.

No shark capture equipment will be set tomorrow morning, Tuesday 7 June, as it has been more than 24 hours since the last shark sighting and the fatal shark incident at Mindarie on Sunday. 

Weather conditions are deemed unsafe on 7 June for the Department of Fisheries to continue water-based monitoring. 

Beaches remain closed in the area, and water users are advised to stay out of the water in the Mindarie area.

The Department of Fisheries will continue to assess the situation on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and will reassess the situation if conditions change.

The department will provide updated information as it becomes available.