Australian authorities reported Tuesday that a surfer was lightly injured by a shark bite in the state of New South Wales — marking the fourth shark attack in the region within 48 hours. Due to the ongoing danger, residents have been urged to avoid entering the ocean and, if they must swim, to stick to local swimming pools instead.
Tuesday morning’s attack occurred at Point Plomer, about 460 kilometers north of Sydney, New South Wales’ capital. The incident took place at 9:00 a.m. local time, when a shark clamped its teeth into the man’s surfboard and injured his chest. The surfer managed to escape and was taken to hospital by bystanders on the beach. He is in stable condition, suffering cuts and abrasions.
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A sign warning of the danger of sharks, Tuesday morning on the coast of New South Wales
(Photo: Jeremy Piper/Reuters )
This latest incident follows three shark attacks over the past two days in the Sydney area in which a man and a child sustained serious leg injuries, and another child’s surfboard was bitten by a shark. Beaches along the northern New South Wales coast and northern Sydney remain closed on Tuesdday, and authorities responsible for the northern Sydney beaches have announced that closures will stay in effect for at least another 48 hours. Electronic shark‑alert systems that notify authorities when a large shark is detected on bait have been deployed off the city’s shoreline.
Officials explain that recent rains have turned the waters off New South Wales murky, drawing fish that are prey for sharks closer to shore, increasing the likelihood of encounters with great white sharks, which are known to frequent such waters and are responsible for most attacks around Sydney.
“If anyone is thinking about going surfing today anywhere along the northern beaches, think again,” said Steve Pearce, CEO of Surf Life Saving New South Wales, this morning. “We have two people seriously injured in hospital. Just go to a local pool, because at this stage the beaches are not safe.”
The first attack in this recent string occurred on Sunday, when a 12‑year‑old boy was bitten after jumping from a 6‑meter rock ledge known as the “jumping rock” near Shark Beach in Sydney Harbor. According to police, the boy’s friends courageously jumped from the cliff during the attack and dragged him back to shore, actions described by local police officer Joseph McNulty as “brave considering the circumstances,” noting that the injuries “were very severe for boys their age.” Australian media reported that the child lost both legs in the attack.
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lifeguard participates in the search for a shark that attacked a surfer off the coast of Sydney Monday
(Photo: Jeremy Piper/Reuters )
Monday afternoon, a shark attacked an 11‑year‑old on a surfboard at Dee Why Beach north of Manly, biting into the board and breaking off a piece, though the child escaped unharmed. Hours later, at 6:20 p.m., a shark bit a male surfer in his 20s on the leg off North Steyne Beach, a northern Manly suburb. Bystanders helped him from the water, and an ambulance took him to hospital in very serious condition.
Dee Why Beach is located near where a 57‑year‑old surfer was killed in a suspected shark attack in September. In November, a Swiss tourist was killed and her partner seriously injured while trying to save her after a shark attacked them as they swam off a national park north of Sydney.