Man critical after shark attack in Manly

more
Man critical after shark attack in Manly

Surf cameras have captured the moment a man was pulled from the water in Manly, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, after a suspected…

A man who was attacked by a bull shark at Manly would have likely died without critical units of blood he received following a swift, 10-second handover between police and paramedics likened to “F1 pit stop” on a Sydney bridge.

The 27-year-old man, from Wollongong, was rushed to hospital after he was bitten on the calf at North Steyne, in Manly, at about 6.20pm on Monday, in the third of four shark attacks in Sydney within two days. He remains in a critical condition.

Acting Superintendent of NSW Ambulance Christie Marks said the man, who was assisted by two off-duty doctors and a surfer at the scene, lost life-threatening amounts of blood and required 13 units.

Without it, he would have likely died, Superintendant Marks told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“13 units of blood is a lot of blood for one patient,” she said.

Two NSW Police highway patrol cars carrying blood from two hospitals were tasked with stopping on Spit Bridge, which connects the Northern Beaches and Sydney’s Lower North Shore, to transfer the blood to an ambulance carrying the man.

“We had two police highway patrol cars that met at the Spit Bridge and, then, in what they said was almost like an F1 pit stop of 10 seconds where they just opened the door (and transferred the blood),” she said.

“It’s amazing everybody working together – lifesavers, lifeguards off duty, and paramedic officers that were there, and then our team (giving him) every chance of surviving.”

A man is critical after an attack in Manly on Monday night (above). Picture: Facebook
The new details about the fight to save the man come as a surfer camping on the NSW mid-north coast was attacked by what is believed to be a bull shark on Tuesday, marking the fourth shark attack in the state in just two days.

A group of surfers camping at Point Plomer reportedly saw a group of about four sharks in the water, believed to be bull sharks, before one of the group was bitten.

The man was taken to Kempsey Hospital by a bystander.

It is understood the surfer was bitten through his wetsuit and had a chunk taken out of his board.

Beaches have since been closed from Queens Head to Big Hill and SLSNSW drones have been deployed.

The man was not seriously hurt and was recovering with minor cuts and grazes, the Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive, Steven Pearce, told the ABC.

“If anyone’s thinking of heading into the surf this morning, anywhere along the northern beaches, think again,” Pearce said.

“We have such poor water quality that’s conducive to bull shark activity. We have two people critically injured in hospital this morning. Just go to a local pool, because at this stage, we’re advising that the beaches are unsafe.”

‘Disgusting’ reason for four attacks in two days

It comes as shark experts have warned families and surfers to stay out of the water around Sydney for the next week, predicting it’s “the most dangerous time we’ve seen in years.”

As water temperatures rise, experts say it’s providing perfect conditions for bull sharks, with dirty water from recent storms “stimulating the sharks” and reducing visibility for surfers.

Shark expert Joel Nancarrow, the owner of Hunter Shark Jaw Restoration, said swimmers should just stay out of the water for the next seven days.

“Here we go, number three in two days. I don’t really know what to say anymore, this absolutely kills me, please people, get this msg out there,’’ he said, before news of the fourth attack.

“The next seven days is the most dangerous time we will have seen in years, this isn’t scare tactics, this is f*ckn real life danger.

“This will not be the last one.

“This is absolutely ridiculous!.”

Shark expert Joel Nancarrow has warned “this will not be the last” attack. Picture: Facebook/Hunter SHARK JAW Restoration
Mr Nancarrow warned the danger of bull sharks particularly during periods of heavy rain combined with warm water was clear.

“Are attacks rare? Yeah – but in less than 24 hours, a 12-year-old and an 11-year-old have been attacked,’’ he said.

“What if it were a man in a van who hurt two kids in public within a 24-hour period? Would it still be waved off as a rare occurrence and nothing to worry about?’

Shark expert David Baxter agreed, warning that increased bull shark activity tends to coincide with warmer sea temperatures.

“The fact is that the conditions were just right for a species like a bull shark, we’ve got dirty water, a lot of the runoffs from the creeks and the drains, and that it stimulates the curiosity of sharks,’’ he told the ABC.

“The shark is just one big living, sensory creature that can sense and taste the water. And then they don’t have hands, so they feel with their mouth.

“They feel the pressure change, and then they realise we’re not part of the food chain. Hopefully, let us go.

“But usually, because the teeth are so sharp, they may sever a major artery, and that’s where humans fall foul.”

Paramedics were called to Manly on Sydney’s northern beaches early on Monday evening. Experts have warned surfers and swimmers to stay out of the water for the next week.
Mr Baxter, who has been working with sharks for four decades, said there was clear evidence about what caused the animals to attack.

“So we know the Sydney Harbour, for example, murky water, overcast days, drizzly rain, bait fish activity, there’s a higher chance of an encounter with a shark that may be in the area to come in to investigate what’s going on,’’ he said.

“I still can’t work out why. Surfers like to wear a black wetsuit and then sit on a surfboard, which looks like the shape of a seal.

“We know that larger species, like white sharks, they’ll come in there and they’re looking up to them, there’s a seal sitting in the water.

“Also with surfboard riders, we know that they pee in their wetsuit. That’s the body fluid, so it’s detectable from a shark species.

“So again, if it doesn’t feel right, the conditions aren’t right, just don’t go in,” said Mr Baxter.

“I’ve spoken to some local surfers, and I’ve said the conditions, after all those big storms and a lot of the run-off, I personally wouldn’t go in the water.

“If more people just thought logically like that, we’d probably have less encounters where sharks have hit someone.

“And you’re in Sydney Harbor now, we’ve had those two attacks in the harbour, and I’m predicting that there’ll be more.”

An 11-year-old boy was lucky to escape unharmed after a shark took a bite out of his surfboard in Dee Why earlier on Monday. Picture: Manly Observer
Raw sewage in the water

University of Sydney associate professor of public policy Chris Pepin-Neff warned heavy rains and raw sewage in the water was a dangerous combination.

“After 20 millimetres of rain, the level of faecal matter and raw sewage that are in the harbour attracts bait fish and brings sharks toward the bait fish,” the academic said.

“It’s really important after a big storm to not swim in the harbour for about 72 hours.

Chris Pepin-Neff warned heavy rains and raw sewage in the water was a dangerous combination. Picture: [email protected]

The academic said it’s “really important after a big storm to not swim in the harbour for about 72 hours”. Picture: [email protected]
“They need to put up public notices that tell people not to swim for 72 hours,” they said.

“Those are city sewerage pipes that are flowing raw sewage into the harbour, so I think the city has an obligation to alert the public that old pipes make the harbour unsafe after a big storm.

“Bull sharks are biters. They tend to bite because they’re smaller. They tend to bite more often. It’s a bad recipe if you’re in the water.”

‘Disgusting’ reason behind three shark attacks

‘Disgusting’ reason behind three shark attacks
more

Abbott calls for action

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged the NSW Government to bring back commercial fishing of sharks in Sydney Harbour.

“There needs to be fewer sharks,” he told news.com.au.

“The obvious thing is to restore the old shark fishery, including in Sydney Harbour.”

He then took to Facebook to declare: “This didn’t happen because of the weather or the time of day but because there are too many sharks.”

“We cannot put the protection of sharks ahead of the safety of people.” he added.

Mr Abbott, a keen surfer, has in the past called for a shark cull – but many shark experts have rejected the move.

Mr Abbott has also previously called for nets to be put in place to protect beachgoers in regional NSW.

Former PM Tony Abbott has rubbished claims by shark experts, saying “there needs to be fewer sharks”. Picture: John Grainger

Mr Abbott, a keen surfer, said the NSW government was putting “the protection of sharks ahead of the safety of people”. Picture: Braden Fastier

Fishermen once worked in places including Port Stephens (above, from the 1920s) to catch sharks. Picture: Port Stephens History
Ten years ago after a spate of attacks he called for debate over the commercial fishing of sharks and more nets in regional areas.

“I’m lucky to surf on Sydney beaches and beaches in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, [which] since the 1940s have been protected by mesh,” Mr Abbott said.

“I don’t know why we don’t have a commercial shark fishery up there because, frankly, if it’s a choice between people and animal, I’m on the side of the people every time,” he said.

Minns says public warnings need to be ‘beefed up’

Speaking to 2GB on Tuesday morning about the attacks, NSW Premier Chris Minns said didn’t have a “silver bullet” when it came to increasing beach safety but he agreed more communication was needed to warn the public of heightened shark risks, particularly in stormy weather.

“I remember hearing that from one of my aunts when I was a kid. When there’s stormy weather, when the water is unclear, that’s when bull sharks particularly get in and about the lower estuaries, and it can be incredibly dangerous. So yes, I think that probably our warning system and communication needs to be beefed up particularly during stormy weather.

“What happens is bull sharks can identify food by silhouette, they do it by sight. In murky conditions, they might attack a human where as under normal circumstances they wouldn’t.”

Mr Minns also noted shark nets are currently installed at beaches in Sydney, Newscaste and Wollongong to help reduce risks.

“We’ve decided that we’re keeping them despite the fact that there’s pressure to remove them. The truth of the matter is, we can’t have a situation where they’re removed and we have further shark attacks on major metropolitan beaches.”

The NSW government suspended a planned trial to reduce shark nets at certain beaches after 57-year-old surfer Mercury Psillakis was killed by a shark off Long Reef Beach at Dee Why last year.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the state’s “warning system and communication needs to be beefed up”. Picture: Gaye Gerard /NewsWire
Four shark attacks in two days

A NSW man remains in a critical condition after a shark attack at Manly, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, on Monday night.

The incident unfolded in front of surf cameras which captured a surfer bringing the injured man to shore as others on the beach rushed in to offer assistance.

Multiple crews are on the scene with paramedics performing CPR on the sand as a rescue helicopter hovered overhead.

It is the third shark incident at a Sydney beach in a little over 24 hours after an 11-year-old boy had his surfboard bitten in Dee Why, also on the northern beaches, earlier on Monday, and a young swimmer was seriously injured in a shark attack in Vaucluse on Sunday.

Another boy is fighting for his life after a shark attack at a popular Sydney Harbour beach in Vaucluse on Sunday afternoon. Picture: Sky News
In comments to the Manly Observer, the young boy who was attacked at Dee Why said he felt “very lucky” to escape injury.

“I was on the board when the shark came up and bit it. I got knocked off the board. One of the guys out there went over to me and helped me get back in to shore quickly,” he said.

“I’m physically fine but I’m obviously rattled and the board has a chunk taken out of and a couple of bite marks in it.”

The boy’s surfboard has been sent to NSW Fisheries to assist with identification of the shark, which eyewitnesses claimed was up to 150 centimetres long.