A group of Narooma area locals was surprised and saddened to see a large shark washed up dead on Duesburys Beach at Dalmeny on Friday afternoon, October 6. Unknown persons later that afternoon removed the jaws from the shark’s carcass.
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Biatrisse Cerrone,17, was walking on the beach with her mum Kate, best friend Cecilia Colom Davis, her niece Tinks Hynes and their dog Malu when they spotted the large shark.
The thought at first it might have been a thresher shark, but it’s now believed to be a whaler shark, relatively common in local waters. They measured the shark at 2.5 metres in length. There were no obvious signs of what could have caused its death, although it did have some minor wounds.
Biatrisse and her friends were sad to see the shark dead but also said it was very interesting to get that close to a big predator. “We love the ocean and I’m really passionate sharks,” she said. “It was sad to see but also very impressive.”
The dead shark at Narooma was discovered just as it was announced that the NSW Government is going to use SMART drumlines to catch sharks off popular beaches at Ulladulla and the Illawarra.
The 20 lines will be baited daily and deployed about 500 metres from shore in eight to 15 metres of water, weather permitting, until mid-2018. DPI scientists are alerted when a shark is caught. The shark is then tagged, relocated about 1km offshore and released.
The SMART technology rollout follows the successful use of drumlines on the state’s North Coast and complements the five VR4G shark listening stations floated off Kiama, Sussex Inlet, Mollymook, Batemans Bay and Merimbula last year.