News & Alerts

Update: 5.05pm, 1 August 2016
The whale calf stranded inside Left Handers surf break at Cowaramup on Sunday 31 July has been washed out to sea and searches of the area have failed to locate it or the other whales that were in the vicinity.

• Authorities will continue to look for the whale in the coastal area near Cowaramup.
• It is possible the whale may wash ashore in another location and act as an attractant that could lead to sharks coming close in to shore.

Department of Fisheries advice for this update is for water users to continue to take additional caution near Cowaramup and other beaches in the area between Capes Naturaliste and Leeuwin.

Previous information at 31 July, 2016

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued, due to a whale being washed ashore inside Left Handers surf break Cowaramup.

Update: 5.20pm, 1 August 2016
The whale carcass washed ashore in Geographe Bay near Dolphin road Busselton on Sunday 31 July has been removed from the beach.

• The carcass was removed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife on the afternoon of Sunday 31 July.
• Some residue from the carcass has remained in the sand and an oil slick is stretching out to sea from the beach. This residue is likely to remain for several days and it possible it will continue to act as an attractant that could lead to sharks coming close in to shore.

Department of Fisheries advice for this update is for water users to continue to take additional caution in Geographe Bay.

Previous information at 31 July, 2016

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued, due to a whale carcass being washed ashore in Geographe Bay near Dolphin road Busselton

Alert level:
A shark WARNING has been issued for Possession Point near Albany, after an interaction with a shark 200metres offshore was reported early this afternoon.

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to a humpback whale carcass being washed up approximately 200metres south of the Bowes River mouth.

The area is very popular with both surfers and fishermen, and is also only 6km south of the town of Horrocks. 

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to a confirmed shark sighting at a number of beaches Swanbourne, Floreat and City Beach today. A whale, believed to be a Southern Right Whale, was seen travelling close to the beaches being followed by a white shark. A number of shark sightings have also been reported at Mettam’s Pool Beach and North Beach over the last two days.

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.