[i][url=http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18126310%255E3102,00.html]Gold Coast beaches re-open after shark frenzy[/url]
Phil Bartsch and Richard Finnila, with AAP
13feb06 Courier Mail
GOLD Coast beaches reopened today after schools of bait fish lured dozens of sharks close to shore over the weekend.
Gold Coast City Council chief lifeguard Warren Young said only a beach in Main Beach was closed to the public today.
“We haven’t had the numbers (of sharks) that we had over the weekend,” Mr Young said.
“There’s been a natural movement of them away from the shore but we’re monitoring the situation.”[/i]Mr Young said the public were generally happy to enter the water again.
“They’re fine. A lot of it comes down to commonsense,” he added.
“I don’t think we could have had greater saturation of coverage about the sharks so people are aware of them.”
Lifesavers closed beaches on the northern end of the Gold Coast regularly throughout yesterday after about 50 sharks moved up and down the coastline to feed on the bait fish.
Up to 50 sharks were reported off Main Beach and Narrowneck, where the shark sirens were sounded numerous times warning swimmers to leave the water.
Southport Surf Club patrol captain Sue McDonald said: “It’s just nature doing its thing. We’re in their ocean and we’ve got to respect that. It’s just a frenzy out there and it’s awesome to see.”
Ms McDonald said most of the sharks measuring between 1m and 2m had been spotted just beyond the shore break, about 40m off the beach.
She said lifesavers had not had problems getting swimmers out of the water when the shark siren was sounded.
“They’re walking on water, mate,” she said.
Shark expert John West, who runs the Australian Shark File, said the packs of sharks on the Gold Coast were mainly whalers.
While the coastline is protected by shark nets, Mr West said they are not large enough to prevent sharks from getting around them.
“The bait drums are most effective in stopping the bigger sharks.”
He said the scenes off the Gold Coast were similar up and down the coastline.
Further north, at Hervey Bay, a spearfisherman had a lucky escape from a shark yesterday afternoon.
A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said the man was swimming off Point Vernon about 2.30pm when a shark bit his arm. He was treated on the shore for a minor puncture wound but did not require hospital treatment.
Pat Cowley, who runs Gattaker’s Restaurant down by the water’s edge, said she was not surprised by the attack.
She said Point Vernon was a popular shark habitat for man-eating sharks, particularly the Tiger and Hammerhead species.
“They come in chasing the bait fish at this time of the year, it happens every year,” she said.
Surf Life Saving Queensland duty officer Sue Neil said it was expected the feeding frenzy at the Gold Coast would continue until at least tomorrow.
“They’re still hanging around but there’s not as many out there as there was on Saturday,” she said.
She said lifesavers had been forced to close the beaches at Main Beach, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach at various times throughout yesterday.