News & Alerts

Situation:

• On Wednesday 5 October a white shark was detected 1.5km of Scarborough, and three shark sightings were reported at Cottesloe beach.
• In the last seven days, there have been 6 reported sightings at Cottesloe, and tagged shark detections occured at Garden Island, Warnbro Sound, Leighton, 1.5km off Scarborough, 2km off Scarborough, and 2.5km off Trigg. 
• Two white sharks were detected at Shark Monitoring Network receivers located at Cottesloe, North Cottesloe, Swanbourne, City Beach, Floreat and Scarborough a total of 38 times over a 24 hour period on 29 and 30 September 2016.
• It is possible that the frequency of the recent detections may increase the likelihood of encountering a shark in this area. The change in activity may be due to a possible change in environmental conditions such as fish aggregations in the area.

What to do:

• Obey beach closures advised by Local Government Rangers or Surf Life Saving WA.
• Take extra caution in waters between Cottesloe and Trigg area, by swimming at patrolled beaches and not surfing or diving in the area.
• At this time of year, many beaches are not patrolled fulltime, so water users need to take responsibility for their actions by staying up to date.
• Leave the water if a warning siren is sounded from the Surf Life Saving helicopter service.
• 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.

What authorities are doing:
Local Government rangers, Surf Life Saving WA and Department of Fisheries will continue to monitor the situation. To keep people safe, beaches may be closed.

Extra information:
It is not uncommon for sharks to be present off the coast throughout the year.

Keep informed of the latest detection and sighting information by checking the Shark Activity Map on the SharkSmart website – www.sharksmart.com.au/shark-activity or the Surf Life Saving WA Twitter – twitter.com/SLSWA.

Check www.sharksmart.com.au/news for current alerts and warnings.