News & Alerts

Alert issued on 19 April

Alert level:

A shark ADVICE has been issued for Gracetown water users, due to a partial outage in the shark notification system at Cowaramup Bay beaches, including Town beach, North Point surf spot and South Point surf spot.

Situation:

• The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development advice that tagged shark detections from Shark Monitoring Network satellite-linked receiver located at Cowaramup Bay is currently offline.
• This is the only receiver out of service and the remainder of the Shark Monitoring Network has not been affected. 
• The remainder of the system is fully operational. 
• The Cowaramup Bay receiver has a technical fault and is out of operation until further notice.
• Restoration of the service will require a maintenance crew to replace the unit when weather conditions improve in the area. 
• Extra caution is advised for water users in this location.

What to do:

• Adhere to any beach closures advised by Local Government Rangers or Surf Life Saving WA.
• Use your Sea Sense and stay informed by checking for shark activity on the SharkSmart website, SharkSmart WA app 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 land managers and relevant authorities and to the public on the SharkSmart website, SharkSmart WA app and Surf Life Saving WA Twitter feed. 

What authorities are doing: 

The relevant authorities that receive Shark Notification System alerts to assist them in responses have been notified of the outage; including the Surf Life Saving WA, WA Police and relevant local government rangers.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development will be working to restore the system to full operational status as soon as possible. Repairs are expected to be carried out on the receiver within the next week, weather permitting. 

Extra information: 

Switch on your Sea Sense and stay informed of shark activity information by checking the SharkSmart website – www.sharksmart.com.au/shark-activity, download the SharkSmart WA app or follow Surf Life Saving WA Twitter – twitter.com/SLSWA. Check www.sharksmart.com.au/news  for current alerts and warnings.