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.
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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 being washed up in the surf.
The thought at first it might have been a thresher shark, but now believe it is a bronze whaler, 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 scratches and 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 announced it was going to use SMART drumlines to catch sharks off popular beaches at Ulladulla and the Illawarra.
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According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Bronze Whalers, Carcharhinus brachyurus, inhabit many temperate seas and oceans around the world.
They are often seen close inshore feeding on schooling fish such as salmon but are also found near deep water where they prey on squid and bottom-dwelling fish.
They are large, up to 3.5 metres and 300 kg, are potentially aggressive sharks that have attacked people and can be dangerous to spearfishers with fresh catches as well as towards surfers, as their natural prey is often found in the surf zone. Colour is grey to bronze on the back, and white below. The pelvic and pectoral fins can have dusky to black tips.