●  'They're out there, it's a matter if whether you see them' ● Novocastrians have their say: What shark? ● Council calls for patience after swimmers dive in THE big girl is back, and she has got friends. Several massive sharks seen feeding on dolphins off two of the city’s iconic beaches on Thursday has prompted authorities to announce beaches from Stockton to Redhead would remain closed for at least a seventh day. The enormous great white shark, which first prompted the closures last Saturday, was confirmed as cruising around Merewether and Burwood beaches on Thursday afternoon at the same time a shark ‘‘as big as a car’’ gave onlookers a show off the northern end of Nobbys Beach before devouring a dolphin. Swimmers gathered near the mouth of Glenrock lagoon late on Thursday afternoon, unaware of drama unfolding beneath the breakers only a short distance away. Shortly before 4pm a shark attacked a dolphin a short distance from the shoreline. Flying over the area a short time later, Herald photographer Peter Stoop captured images of a larger shark believed to be a mature great white. Perhaps attracted by the blood in the water, the large shark never closed in on the dolphin’s body but lingered in water near the beach for close to 10 minutes. Estimated at roughly three metres long, the shark dove deep under the waves as the helicopter hovered overhead. It was last spotted headed steadily towards deeper waters. HeliServices Newcastle owner Steve Bazic said that while the shark that attacked the dolphin appeared thin, and was likely a juvenile, the shark lingering near the dolphin carcass later was a much thicker beast. "That’s a big fish," he said of the second shark.  "You can tell by the width that’s a totally different fish." "I’ve seen a few of them over the years and that other one was skinny, a juvenile, but that one looks mature." Newcastle City Council later confirmed that the five-metre shark, which had been seen cruising along the coastline for the week and was estimated as weighing about 1700kg, was seen around Burwood and Merewether beaches. It appears that at least three large sharks were in the vicinity of Merewether’s ocean baths on Thursday afternoon. At the same time, Wyee woman Rachel Kulk, 22, and her boyfriend Gavin Gleave were sitting on the southern breakwall at the entrance to Newcastle Harbour when a dark shadow caught her eye. ‘‘It was huge and it just swam right up to the breakwall, turned to show us its big white belly, had a look and swam off,’’ Ms Kulk said. ‘‘It was massive, as round as a car, it was huge. ‘‘Its fin was more than half the size of my surfboard.’’ A lifeguard later saw a large shark feeding on a dolphin carcass on the northern end of Nobbys Beach. The sightings followed reports from surfers at Stockton Beach that they saw a large fin near the breakers about 10am on Thursday. The council confirmed that at least three dolphin carcasses have washed ashore this week with injuries from shark bites. UPDATE: 4:54PM: SHE is big, but is she the biggest? Newcastle Herald photographer Peter Stoop has snapped some frames of a ‘‘very large shark’’ cruising off Burwood Beach on Thursday only minutes after onlookers watched on from land as an injured dolphin was being chased offshore. As Stoop was photographing the shark, which was described as being more than three metres long, a second large shark was seen biting into another dolphin near the breakwall on the northern edge of Nobbys Beach. Lifeguards have confirmed that both sharks were ‘‘very large’’, but could not get a good enough look to confirm whether could either may have been the five-metre, 1700 kilogram Goliath which has roamed the city’s beaches since Saturday. Lifeguards on jetskis powered from Nobbys down to the southern end of Merewether and off Burwood beaches after 2pm on Thursday following reports that a very large shark was feeding off something. There have been reports that it may have been a 2.5-metre long bronze whaler. As Stoop hovered overhead, he snapped another shark believed to be larger and possibly a great white. After the lifeguard confirmed the Burwood shark, he was called back to Nobbys where he confirmed that the other large shark had fed on a dolphin, leaving part of the carcass behind as the jetski got close. Beaches from Stockton to Redhead remain closed. UPDATE 10:21AM: NEWCASTLE's beach closures have pushed into a sixth day after a sighting at Nobbys on Wednesday was deemed credible. "The shark was sighted again yesterday afternoon at Nobbys and Council wants to have at least a full day of no sightings before reopening the beaches," the council said in a statement. The council reaffirmed the importance of swimmers and surfers heeding their warning.  "Sightings of this shark have been across all beaches, from Stockton to Merewether," the council said. "It is not safe for anyone to be in the water, including board riders, even close to shore, as sharks are known to move into the surf zone, hunting prey between where the surf breaks and the shoreline." Lake Macquarie City Council acting beach lifeguard team leader Darren Hooey confirmed Redhead beach was closed for the day as well. “This is just a safety precaution but we are asking people to avoid Redhead beach today,” Mr Hooey said. “Lifeguards will monitor the situation and will advise the community when the beach reopens.” Blacksmiths, Caves and Catherine Hill Bay beaches remain are open. IF the old salts are correct and it’s the sharks you can’t see that you should really worry about, then start getting concerned. Authorities may decide as early as Thursday to reopen the beaches which have been shut to all but a few hardy surfers and one enormous great white shark since it decided to stick its dorsel fin up off the iconic Merewether baths on Saturday. There were no confirmed sightings of the five-metre-long beast on Wednesday, with a Newcastle City Council statement confirming that beaches would remain shut until there was at least a 24-hour period without a sighting. Helicopters made sweeps along the stretch from Stockton to Redhead on Wednesday, as lifeguards and other authorities patrolled along the coastline in a bid to spot the predator. An unconfirmed sighting occurred at Nobbys beach about 4pm on Wednesday, but lifeguards could find no trace of the shark. The last confirmed sighting was by those aboard a police vessel off Burwood beach about 2.30pm on Tuesday. Concerns the improving weather would cause a swarm of beachgoers wanting to get back in the water prompted a council statement reporting that ‘‘our lifeguards emphasise that this great white shark is of a size that has not been seen before around Newcastle’’. ‘‘It appears to be nearly full grown at an estimated five metres in length which would make its weight around 1700 kilos,’’ the statement said. ‘‘Sightings have been across all beaches, from Stockton to Merewether. It is not safe for boardriders to be out in the water, even close to shore, as sharks are known to move into the surf zone, hunting prey between where the surf breaks and the shoreline.’’ Lifeguards had been working overtime to continue warning late-afternoon and early-evening beachgoers of the dangers. That would continue until the all-clear was given. ‘‘It is unusual for a shark to stay around the same coastal areas for this many days in a row, and we would like to have at least a 24-hour period of no sightings before the beaches are reopened,’’ the council statement said. Newcastle Council aquatic services co-ordinator Peter Withers, who has served in the region for 37 years, said the city would typically get up to  five shark sightings triggering beach closures annually, a number that hadn’t changed much  in years, until now. Figures compiled for most of the coast and Sydney Harbour by Surf Life Saving NSW tally 165 shark sightings resulting in beach closures this season, on a par for the same stage  last summer. Vic Peddemors, a shark biologist with the Department of Primary Industries, said there was no indication that shark numbers were  rising. ‘‘Because there is commercial fishing along the entire east coast of sharks of various description, the chance of the shark population going up is pretty much inconceivable,’’ Dr Peddemors said. While media interest in shark sightings had always been high, social media had fanned it further, Dr Peddemors said. ‘‘Now it goes up on Facebook or somewhere else and the whole world knows about it,’’ he said. Despite the interest, the chance of a shark attack ‘‘is so small you can’t even calculate it’’, he said. ‘‘Drownings are an order of magnitude more than shark bites and that’s with a population that’s well versed in the etiquette of swimming between the flags.’’ Macquarie University marine ecologist Rob Harcourt said the chance of a shark encounter was  decreasing when the state’s swelling human population, the increasing range of water activities and improved wetsuits were taken into account. ‘‘My strong suspicion is that we have a lot of sharks around most of the time, and most of the time they’re not interested in people,’’ Dr Harcourt said. - NEWCASTLE, NSW, Jan - Five-metre great white spotted numerous times off the Newcastle coast, closing beaches for a record five days straightem - BONDI, NSW, Jan - Sharks sighted twice in four days prompting lifeguards to temporarily close Sydney’s most famous beachem - ALBANY, WA, Dec - 17-year-old Jay Muscat attacked and killed by great white while spearfishing at Cheynes Beachem - PERTH, WA, Dec - Catch and kill order issued for elusive white pointer seen over two weeks near popular Warnbro Beach that was closed for daysem - ADELAIDE, SA, Dec - Shark sighted at Glenelg Beach, forcing swimmers out of waterem - PORT DOUGLAS, Qld, Dec - 18-year-old Daniel Smith mauled and killed in front of mates spearfishing at Rudder Reef, near Port Douglasem - PERTH, WA, Dec - Cameron Pearman, 13, bitten by two-metre shark while surfing at Port Bouvard, suffering minor leg injuriesem - BONDI, NSW, Nov - Two great white sharks discovered dead in nets at Bondi Beach within a weekem - PORT MACQUARIE, NSW, Oct - Competitive surfer Ryan Hunt, 20, bitten on foot by shark at Wallabi Point, kicks it away AAP

January 15 2015 - 10:30PM

Sharks linger off Newcastle coast, eating dolphins, keeping beaches closed for a week

DAN PROUDMAN and MATT CARR

Local News

● Novocastrians have their say: What shark?

● Council calls for patience after swimmers dive in

THE big girl is back, and she has got friends.

Several massive sharks seen feeding on dolphins off two of the city’s iconic beaches on Thursday has prompted authorities to announce beaches from Stockton to Redhead would remain closed for at least a seventh day.

The enormous great white shark, which first prompted the closures last Saturday, was confirmed as cruising around Merewether and Burwood beaches on Thursday afternoon at the same time a shark ‘‘as big as a car’’ gave onlookers a show off the northern end of Nobbys Beach before devouring a dolphin.

Swimmers gathered near the mouth of Glenrock lagoon late on Thursday afternoon, unaware of drama unfolding beneath the breakers only a short distance away.

Shortly before 4pm a shark attacked a dolphin a short distance from the shoreline.

Flying over the area a short time later, Herald photographer Peter Stoop captured images of a larger shark believed to be a mature great white.

Perhaps attracted by the blood in the water, the large shark never closed in on the dolphin’s body but lingered in water near the beach for close to 10 minutes.

Estimated at roughly three metres long, the shark dove deep under the waves as the helicopter hovered overhead.

It was last spotted headed steadily towards deeper waters.

HeliServices Newcastle owner Steve Bazic said that while the shark that attacked the dolphin appeared thin, and was likely a juvenile, the shark lingering near the dolphin carcass later was a much thicker beast.

"That’s a big fish," he said of the second shark.

"You can tell by the width that’s a totally different fish."

"I’ve seen a few of them over the years and that other one was skinny, a juvenile, but that one looks mature."

Newcastle City Council later confirmed that the five-metre shark, which had been seen cruising along the coastline for the week and was estimated as weighing about 1700kg, was seen around Burwood and Merewether beaches.

It appears that at least three large sharks were in the vicinity of Merewether’s ocean baths on Thursday afternoon.

At the same time, Wyee woman Rachel Kulk, 22, and her boyfriend Gavin Gleave were sitting on the southern breakwall at the entrance to Newcastle Harbour when a dark shadow caught her eye.

‘‘It was huge and it just swam right up to the breakwall, turned to show us its big white belly, had a look and swam off,’’ Ms Kulk said.

‘‘It was massive, as round as a car, it was huge.

‘‘Its fin was more than half the size of my surfboard.’’

A lifeguard later saw a large shark feeding on a dolphin carcass on the northern end of Nobbys Beach.

The sightings followed reports from surfers at Stockton Beach that they saw a large fin near the breakers about 10am on Thursday.

The council confirmed that at least three dolphin carcasses have washed ashore this week with injuries from shark bites.

UPDATE: 4:54PM: SHE is big, but is she the biggest?

Newcastle Herald photographer Peter Stoop has snapped some frames of a ‘‘very large shark’’ cruising off Burwood Beach on Thursday only minutes after onlookers watched on from land as an injured dolphin was being chased offshore.

As Stoop was photographing the shark, which was described as being more than three metres long, a second large shark was seen biting into another dolphin near the breakwall on the northern edge of Nobbys Beach.

Lifeguards have confirmed that both sharks were ‘‘very large’’, but could not get a good enough look to confirm whether could either may have been the five-metre, 1700 kilogram Goliath which has roamed the city’s beaches since Saturday.

Lifeguards on jetskis powered from Nobbys down to the southern end of Merewether and off Burwood beaches after 2pm on Thursday following reports that a very large shark was feeding off something.

There have been reports that it may have been a 2.5-metre long bronze whaler.

As Stoop hovered overhead, he snapped another shark believed to be larger and possibly a great white.

After the lifeguard confirmed the Burwood shark, he was called back to Nobbys where he confirmed that the other large shark had fed on a dolphin, leaving part of the carcass behind as the jetski got close.

Beaches from Stockton to Redhead remain closed.

UPDATE 10:21AM: NEWCASTLE's beach closures have pushed into a sixth day after a sighting at Nobbys on Wednesday was deemed credible.

"The shark was sighted again yesterday afternoon at Nobbys and Council wants to have at least a full day of no sightings before reopening the beaches," the council said in a statement.

The council reaffirmed the importance of swimmers and surfers heeding their warning.

"Sightings of this shark have been across all beaches, from Stockton to Merewether," the council said.

"It is not safe for anyone to be in the water, including board riders, even close to shore, as sharks are known to move into the surf zone, hunting prey between where the surf breaks and the shoreline."

Lake Macquarie City Council acting beach lifeguard team leader Darren Hooey confirmed Redhead beach was closed for the day as well.

“This is just a safety precaution but we are asking people to avoid Redhead beach today,” Mr Hooey said.

“Lifeguards will monitor the situation and will advise the community when the beach reopens.”

Blacksmiths, Caves and Catherine Hill Bay beaches remain are open.

IF the old salts are correct and it’s the sharks you can’t see that you should really worry about, then start getting concerned.

Authorities may decide as early as Thursday to reopen the beaches which have been shut to all but a few hardy surfers and one enormous great white shark since it decided to stick its dorsel fin up off the iconic Merewether baths on Saturday.

There were no confirmed sightings of the five-metre-long beast on Wednesday, with a Newcastle City Council statement confirming that beaches would remain shut until there was at least a 24-hour period without a sighting.

Helicopters made sweeps along the stretch from Stockton to Redhead on Wednesday, as lifeguards and other authorities patrolled along the coastline in a bid to spot the predator.

An unconfirmed sighting occurred at Nobbys beach about 4pm on Wednesday, but lifeguards could find no trace of the shark.

The last confirmed sighting was by those aboard a police vessel off Burwood beach about 2.30pm on Tuesday.

Concerns the improving weather would cause a swarm of beachgoers wanting to get back in the water prompted a council statement reporting that ‘‘our lifeguards emphasise that this great white shark is of a size that has not been seen before around Newcastle’’.

‘‘It appears to be nearly full grown at an estimated five metres in length which would make its weight around 1700 kilos,’’ the statement said.

‘‘Sightings have been across all beaches, from Stockton to Merewether. It is not safe for boardriders to be out in the water, even close to shore, as sharks are known to move into the surf zone, hunting prey between where the surf breaks and the shoreline.’’

Lifeguards had been working overtime to continue warning late-afternoon and early-evening beachgoers of the dangers.

That would continue until the all-clear was given.

‘‘It is unusual for a shark to stay around the same coastal areas for this many days in a row, and we would like to have at least a 24-hour period of no sightings before the beaches are reopened,’’ the council statement said.

Newcastle Council aquatic services co-ordinator Peter Withers, who has served in the region for 37 years, said the city would typically get up to five shark sightings triggering beach closures annually, a number that hadn’t changed much in years, until now.

Figures compiled for most of the coast and Sydney Harbour by Surf Life Saving NSW tally 165 shark sightings resulting in beach closures this season, on a par for the same stage last summer.

Vic Peddemors, a shark biologist with the Department of Primary Industries, said there was no indication that shark numbers were rising.

‘‘Because there is commercial fishing along the entire east coast of sharks of various description, the chance of the shark population going up is pretty much inconceivable,’’ Dr Peddemors said.

While media interest in shark sightings had always been high, social media had fanned it further, Dr Peddemors said.

‘‘Now it goes up on Facebook or somewhere else and the whole world knows about it,’’ he said.

Despite the interest, the chance of a shark attack ‘‘is so small you can’t even calculate it’’, he said.

‘‘Drownings are an order of magnitude more than shark bites and that’s with a population that’s well versed in the etiquette of swimming between the flags.’’

Macquarie University marine ecologist Rob Harcourt said the chance of a shark encounter was decreasing when the state’s swelling human population, the increasing range of water activities and improved wetsuits were taken into account.

‘‘My strong suspicion is that we have a lot of sharks around most of the time, and most of the time they’re not interested in people,’’ Dr Harcourt said.

- NEWCASTLE, NSW, Jan - Five-metre great white spotted numerous times off the Newcastle coast, closing beaches for a record five days straightem

- BONDI, NSW, Jan - Sharks sighted twice in four days prompting lifeguards to temporarily close Sydney’s most famous beachem

- ALBANY, WA, Dec - 17-year-old Jay Muscat attacked and killed by great white while spearfishing at Cheynes Beachem

- PERTH, WA, Dec - Catch and kill order issued for elusive white pointer seen over two weeks near popular Warnbro Beach that was closed for daysem

- ADELAIDE, SA, Dec - Shark sighted at Glenelg Beach, forcing swimmers out of waterem

- PORT DOUGLAS, Qld, Dec - 18-year-old Daniel Smith mauled and killed in front of mates spearfishing at Rudder Reef, near Port Douglasem

- PERTH, WA, Dec - Cameron Pearman, 13, bitten by two-metre shark while surfing at Port Bouvard, suffering minor leg injuriesem

- BONDI, NSW, Nov - Two great white sharks discovered dead in nets at Bondi Beach within a weekem

- PORT MACQUARIE, NSW, Oct - Competitive surfer Ryan Hunt, 20, bitten on foot by shark at Wallabi Point, kicks it away

AAP

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Sharks linger off Newcastle coast, eating dolphins, keeping beaches closed for a week

DAN PROUDMAN and MATT CARR

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