Shark Alarm Australia: Swimmers Flee After Mystery Boat Dumps Bait Near Shore
Authorities in Australia are investigating after a mysterious vessel prompted lifeguards to sound Bondi beach’s shark alarm, dumping an indeterminate amount of bycatch, or chum, into the surf near the populated area.
The incident took place shortly before midday, as beachgoers noted the vessel rounding Ben Buckler point into Bondi bay, followed by a large number of seagulls. Waverley Councillor Dominic Wy Kanak was on the beach when the shark alarm was sounded, according to the Daily Telegraph, and he described the boat as roughly 20-feet-long and painted white.
“It came around Ben Buckler and settled in the bay, sat there for about ten minutes and then it went back the way it came, but the birds stayed behind and were after whatever was left in the water,” he recalled.
Bondi shark alarm sounded after mystery boat dumps berley off beach http://t.co/mv7LO6kipg pic.twitter.com/bIpp9x7NRC
— Carlos Gavina (@CGShark) March 11, 2015
By roughly 12:40 p.m., lifeguards sounded the beach’s shark alarm, calling swimmers out of the water in response to a shark sighting. Lifeguards on jetskis were deployed to spot the shark following the alarm, but were unable to detect the animal again. The beach remained closed for an hour while authorities attempted to track down the shark.
Bondi photographer Eugene Tan was surfing at the beach when the alarm went off, and described the events on his Instagram account.
“I saw a fishing boat up the back swing past Bondi and chum up. How nice of them. Throwing all kinds of fish parts in the water. Seagulls went mental. Minutes after the shark alarm went off — no surprises there,” he noted.
No one swimming at Bondi Beach after shark alarm pic.twitter.com/C9Dvd0zEVy
— Luke Dennehy (@LukeDennehy) March 6, 2015
Waverley Mayor Sally Betts voiced her frustrations at the incident, noting the lengths to which local authorities go to protect swimmers from the local shark population.
“Here we are trying to get drones and all kinds of things to protect our swimmers and we get some complete and utter idiot who thinks its funny to drop berley (bait) in a swimming area.”
Bondi Beach was previously closed in early January, after multiple sharks were sighted. As the Sydney Morning Herald notes, the sharks in question were small, measuring only three to five-feet-long. Last year, several large white sharks were killed in nets that surround Bondi beach, as the Inquisitr previously reported.
Following the “reckless” actions that triggered the shark alarm on one of Australia’s most popular beaches, the Department of Primary Industries is seeking information on the mysterious vessel.
[Photo by Mark Kolbe / Getty Images]
