Fishers are reporting increased sightings of bull sharks in the Swan River but the State Government’s resumed tagging program is yet to land one.
Compleat Angler Nedlands owner Brian Marshall took to social media at the weekend to warn that his staff had seen “7-8 large bull sharks in the river whilst fishing on popular locations”.
Speaking exclusively to PerthNow, Mr Marshall said one of his staff had come close to two of the predators while fishing in Rocky Bay.
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READ NOW“(He) has been fishing the river for 40 years and he has never seen so many, he had one jump about 10 feet in front of him,” he said.
Mr Marshall said sightings were not unusual this time of year but there had been a rise in recent weeks, as the weather and water temperature rises and sharks head to shallower waters to mate or pup.
“That’s the main reason why I posted something, it was just to let local people know to keep their eyes open, they’ve been seen from Guildford down to the mouth of the river,” he said.
“It is that time of the year that they come in and drop pups off.”
Mr Marshall said all the work done to improve the health of the river had led to a boom in fish stocks, bringing more fishers to the water.
“The river is fishing better than ever, there are so many tailor and whiting, the flathead are awesome, there’s giant herring,” he said.
“The river has probably never been better as far as fishing goes so where fish go obviously the predators go.”
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development launched a bull shark tagging program in the Swan River this year after teenager Stella Berry was killed at North Fremantle, but failed to catch any of the creatures before wrapping up at the end of last summer.
A DPIRD spokesperson confirmed they had also yet to catch and tag a bull shark in the river since recommencing in November.
The spokesperson also confirmed the department was aware of recent sightings in the Swan-Canning River system.
“This corresponds to the time of year when increased recreational fishing activity occurs on jetties and riverbanks,” they said.
“There have been numerous reports of good numbers of fish being caught recently in the Swan River which may result in more sharks being sighted.”
The river’s first three shark monitoring receivers were installed this week in East Fremantle, Blackwall Reach and near Canning Bridge, which will provide “near real-time notifications” of tagged shark activity via the SharkSmart WA app and website.
Anyone using the river, estuary or beach is encouraged to keep up to date via the platforms.
“It is also very important for anyone who sees a shark to report it to Water Police immediately on 9442 8600,” the spokesperson said.
Bicton Baths’ new safe swimming shark barrier also opened to the public last week.
The tagging program runs from late spring to early autumn when bull sharks are known to come into estuaries and rivers to give birth, with the species known to roam far and wide.
The DPIRD spokesperson said bull sharks were known to be migratory and three were tagged as far north as the Kimberley region in October.