Shark WARNING for beaches in Waychinicup National Park, east of Albany

31 October 2015

UPDATE on 1 November, 2015:
The City of Albany has advised that it has this afternoon reopened Cheynes Beach.

Alert level:
A shark WARNING has been issued for beaches in the Waychinicup National Park area, east of Albany, including Cheynes Beach.

The warning has been issued after a scuba diver had an interaction with a shark at nearby Bald Island on Friday 30 October, 2015. Cheynes is the closest swimming beach to the location of the incident.

Situation:

To reduce the threat to people, Cheynes Beach has been closed by City of Albany and will remain closed until 3PM today following which a reassessment will be made.
Authorities are continuing to monitor the situation throughout the day and advice will be provided about any continued beach closures for Sunday.

What to do:

Adhere to beach closures.
Take additional caution using the water in the Waychinicup National Park area, including Cheynes Beach, Back Beach and Bald Island.
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:
Department of Fisheries staff members are onsite and continuing to monitor the situation.

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

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