A SURFER was left fighting for his life after being attacked by a shark at a beach near Newcastle recently, but now it seems as though the ocean’s biggest predators are slowly making their way to our backyard.
On Tuesday, January 3, a North Richmond fisherman had been out hoping to land a few flatheads but got a shock when he wound in a 1.2 metre bullshark at Laughtondale (near Wisemans Ferry). This wasn’t the first time Peter O’Donnell had got more than he’d bargained for.
“I caught another one last year and we have also caught several large stingrays up to 1.4 metres in diameter, especially in the warmer months,” Mr O’Donnell said.
With current water temperatures at nearly 25 degrees, Mr O’Donnell said there were large schools of mullet in the river, which were attracting the sharks.
“Bullsharks tend to follow the fish up the river and they sometimes even go into fresh water to rid themselves of parasites,” he said. “Having talked to locals over the years, I am very surprised that many don’t know that the river is salt water and fully tidal (depending on rainfall) right up to Lower Portland and even further in times of drought. In fact, we catch saltwater fish such as bream, flathead, jewfish, flounder and whiting right up to Sackville.”
Mr O’Donnell said while he doesn’t want to panic people who use the river for recreation, he thinks people should be made aware of their presence.
“Bullsharks are very aggressive and have been known to attack swimmers, divers and skiers on many occasions,” he said.
“I think locals need to know that there are rays and sharks in the middle and upper Hawkesbury, for their own safety.”
Despite the fact that on rare occasions, small bull sharks have been recorded as far upstream as North Richmond, Hawkesbury River County Council’s operations manager and regular river user Chris Stanfield said historically, the bull sharks have posed little threat to river users.
“Bullsharks are encountered throughout the brackish and saltwater stretches of the river by anglers using large flesh and fish baits targeting mulloway, as are stingrays and other oddities such as pike eels,” Mr Stanfield said.
“They are seasonally active within the system and numbers generally fluctuate with the amount of bait fish in the river.”
According to sources, in January of 1888 a man was fatally attacked by a shark. It is believed the man was working on a bridge above the Hawkesbury River when he fell into the water and a shark took him under. A body of a male was also found in January of 1951 apparently bitten by sharks in the Hawkesbury River, though neither account was specific in location.
Cousins to the great whites and tiger sharks, bullsharks are among the three most likely sharks to attack humans, and favour shallow coastal waters – the same places humans prefer to swim. They are also responsible for most of the shark attacks in and around Sydney Harbour. The species is the only widely distributed shark that stays in fresh water for long periods of time to feed and breed.
Fast, agile predators, they will eat almost anything they see, including fish, dolphins, and even other sharks. Although humans are not on their official menus, they frequent estuaries and bays, and often attack people inadvertently or out of curiosity.
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