Four shark attacks in New South Wales prompt beach closures and warnings
Four shark attacks off New South Wales in three days injured surfers and bystanders, prompting beach closures, drumline deployment and warnings to avoid open water.
Overview
Four separate shark incidents over three days injured a 12-year-old, an 11-year-old, a man in his 20s and a 39-year-old at beaches across New South Wales, including Sydney.
Authorities closed at least 28 Sydney beaches, shut northern coast beaches, deployed electronic drumlines, increased surveillance and advised a 48-hour precautionary closure of northern beaches.
Officials suspect bull sharks were involved, linking increased activity to recent heavy rainfall and murky water, which can attract sharks into harbour and nearshore areas.
Major ocean swims were cancelled, including Big Swim and Sydney Harbour Splash; local surf competitions added aerial and drone patrols as surfers and residents stayed out of the water.
Surf Life Saving NSW urged people to avoid unsafe beaches and use pools; experts recommended waiting for clearer conditions before returning, as investigations and monitoring continue.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as an urgent public-safety threat by foregrounding official warnings, beach closures and vivid incident details (injuries, deaths) and citing statistics about fatality rates. Editorial choices — selecting alarmed quotes, sequencing multiple attacks, and noting international fatalities — emphasize risk while offering little broader ecological or statistical context.
Sources (3)
FAQ
Four incidents: a 12-year-old boy bitten by a suspected bull shark while swimming in Sydney Harbor (critical condition); an 11-year-old boy knocked into water and surfboard bitten at Dee Why; a man in his 20s surfing at Manly with major leg wounds (critical); a surfer bitten at Point Plumer with minor leg injuries.
Closed at least 28 Sydney beaches and northern coast beaches for 48 hours; deployed electronic drumlines; increased surveillance with aerial and drone patrols; cancelled major ocean swims like Big Swim and Sydney Harbour Splash; urged avoiding unsafe beaches and using pools.
Heavy rainfall caused runoff, reducing water visibility with murky conditions and carrying pollution/waste into coastal areas, attracting bull sharks which prefer turbid water into harbors and nearshore zones.
Bull sharks are suspected, as they prefer murky turbid water and have been linked to the incident with the 12-year-old; they are one of the three main species responsible for serious bites in Australia along with white and tiger sharks.
New South Wales recorded 5 shark attacks in 2025 (0 provoked, 2 fatal); these four recent unprovoked bites involving surfers and swimmers align with common activities in shark incidents.
History
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