The West Australian department of fisheries will today examine the contents of two white pointers caught just hours after a surfer was brutally attacked at Wylie Beach in the state’s far south yesterday.
Authorities deployed baited hooks and drum lines to catch the sharks, which were spotted in the vicinity of the attack on Bunbury surfer, Sean Pollard at the break known as Kelp Beds.
Mr Pollard lost one arm and a portion of the other in the attack and is currently undergoing extensive surgery after being airlifted to Perth.
It’s been reported that he told paramedics he was attacked by two sharks.
Local schoolteacher and surf coach, Brent Moss, told Tracks he’d been surfing the break with his son just hours before the attack.
“We surfed it by ourselves for about two hours,’’ Mr Moss said.
“The conditions were perfect, light offshore and crystal clear water. We didn’t spot any sharks but we did see a whale breaching about 100m out, it may have had a calf.”
Mr Moss, a 30 year local to the area, said several large sharks had been spotted at the break recently and that the mood in the lineup was starting to get a “bit uneasy,”
“There’s been a few close calls with great whites swimming underneath us and one guy was chased out of the water about two weeks ago.” he said.
“These sightings seem to have been getting more frequent down this way. I’m not sure why,” he said.
Big wave specialist Chris Ross said the break was close to a river opening, which he thought may contribute to an increased shark population in the area.
“Maybe all the boats coming and going is attracting them (sharks), but a lot of the boys down there say it’s getting worse,” said Ross.
“I’ve surfed there and it’s definitely real sharky, everywhere down there is.”
The hotly debated topic of what to do about the “shark menace” was front and center just weeks ago following a finding by the state’s Environmental Protection Agency.
It suggested the WA Government’s multi million-dollar Shark Mitigation Policy lacked significant “scientific evidence” and that the program was “fundamentally flawed.”
The Government abandoned plans to redeploy 72 baited hooks off Perth metro and south west beaches from November but Premier Colin Barnett instead vowed to “destroy and remove” rogue sharks.
