Non-Fatal Shark Attack At Sydney Beach

It’s about that time of year where we’re unsurprised to hear of an attack. Thankfully, this one was non-fatal. 

At around 6:30pm last night at Manly Beach’s southern end, a man in his late 20’s was bitten on the foot by a shark of unknown species. The bite left a deep, 8mm gash to his foot, but thankfully the incident occurred a mere 20-metres from shore where the surfer was quickly attended to by other surfers and paramedics shortly after. 

The man is in a stable condition at a Northern Beaches hospital where he was taken last night. 

Some have speculated that this attack was brought on by excess rainwater and the murky conditions present along all of Sydney’s beaches after a severe storm yesterday morning. While murky water often leads to claims of it ‘looking sharky’, there is a grain of truth to the cliché. 

This attack comes off the back off numerous sightings in Sydney over previous weeks and the incidental capture of a 4.6 metre white at Maroubra last week. 

This morning, Manly is filled with chatter surrounding recent sightings in the regions, as well as arguments as to increasing shark populations. Shark activity typically increases in the summer months, sightings and subsequent attacks are also exacerbated by the increased number of beachgoers as the water temp rises to tolerable levels.

To strike further fear into your summer pipe-dreams, a recent study* found Australia to have the highest number of fatal shark attacks over the last 30 years. There have been 47 deaths over 501 attacks nationally, with New South Wales leading the charge with 146 attacks. 

The slight silver lining is that these attacks have only garnered a fatality rate of 9%, but it’s a frightening reality for those of us in the east who typically associate countries like South Africa, and states like WA to be the sharkiest spots. 

Smart drumlines are still being used off regions along the East Coast, but no definitive proof of their efficacy has been determined. 

*The ‘study’ was conducted by finder.com.au – a privately funded comparison website.