Beaches across Perth’s northern suburbs will remain closed until Sunday after a shark killed a swimmer in a fatal attack witnessed by onlookers, authorities said on Saturday.
Western Australia's fisheries minister took the “extraordinary” step to issue a catch-and-kill order for the shark that killed the swimmer on Friday at Sorrento Beach in Perth's northern suburbs.
The 63-year-old man, whose body has not been recovered yet, was swimming very close to shore when a large great white shark pulled him under.
The incident happened on Friday at 10.15am as dozens of beachgoers watched it unfold in shock.
Some of them described seeing the man pulled under repeatedly, with a pool of blood in the water.
His swimming companion made it back to shore distressed while lifesavers responded quickly but could not locate him.
Fisheries minister Jackie Jarvis stopped short of ordering a widespread shark cull following the attack, saying such a measure would not be appropriate. Ms Jarvis said she had taken the “very unusual” step of authorising the capture and killing of the shark after witnesses positively identified it before it swam away.
"In making that decision, I considered the exceptional circumstances of the attack, the hazard posed by the shark, and the potential recovery of coronial evidence," Ms Jarvis said.
Capture gear, essentially a type of drum line normally used to tag sharks, was deployed on Friday in an effort to catch the untagged great white, she said.
The equipment could not be deployed on Saturday though, according to reports, because of unfavourable weather and choppy sea conditions.
Ms Jarvis said deploying more drones to spot sharks along WA's vast coastline was “absolutely under consideration”.
It is believed to be the first time in 10 years that a catch-and-kill order had been issued in Western Australia.
"White sharks are protected internationally," Ms Jarvis said, explaining why a widespread cull of white sharks was "not appropriate in these circumstances".
"This is not the return to the idea that we would cull all apex predators in the ocean.
"I don't want to give people a false sense of security. I cannot mitigate all risks."
Beaches along the 17km of coastline of Western Australia will remain shit till Sunday.
Beaches in Perth's City of Joondalup, from Marmion to Iluka, would remain closed until at least noon (0400 GMT) on Sunday, the state government said on Saturday.
"Officers from Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development will continue to conduct land-based patrols," it said in an alert.
One of the witnesses told local WAtoday that she saw the man being “mauled” and the shark "tossed him around like a fish".
"I'm a nurse, so I mean I obviously see a lot of gruesome stuff, but to see somebody being mauled to death in the water in front of me is pretty hard to clock," she told WAtoday.
"I only live just down the road, and I swim every day. I mean, there's no way I'm going to be getting in that water again."
A witness, Darrel Haythornthwaite, told 7News that the man’s friend was inconsolable after making it back to the shore. He said he could not believe the incident had occurred, “especially in a place like this”.
Emergency services have also continued their search for the man's body. The victim’s family arrived at the beach, and locals also arrived to pay their respects with floral tributes at the site.
This is the third fatal shark attack in Western Australia in 2026. It also follows a non-fatal attack on a surfer near Geraldton earlier in the week.
In June, a 35-year-old man was killed while spearfishing off the state's south coast, and a 38-year-old man was mauled to death off an island near Perth in May.
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