An experienced surfer and father has died after being mauled by a shark on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
NSW Police said the 57-year-old man was surfing with a group of friends at Long Reef Beach just after 9:30am on Saturday when he was attacked by a large shark.Â
His friends returned to shore safely, but the man’s body was later found floating in the surf and was missing “a number of limbs”.
Emergency services were called to Long Reef Beach just after 10am on Saturday. (ABC News: Alexander Lewis)
Detective Superintendent John Duncan said the man had been in the water for 30 minutes and was only 100 metres from the beach, before “both him and his board disappeared underwater”.
“There was a couple of other surfers [who] managed to see him in the surf and managed to get him back out,” he said.
“But unfortunately by that time, we understand he’d lost probably a lot of blood and, yeah, resuscitation was not possible.”
Superintendent Duncan described the attack as a “freak” incident of a kind that happens “very, very rarely”.
“We understand he leaves behind a wife and a young daughter, and obviously tomorrow being Father’s Day it’s particularly very tragic,” he said.
Police said the man was pulled from the water unresponsive along with large sections of a surfboard.
“Officers attached to Northern Beaches Police Area Command have closed the beach and will liaise with experts from the Department of Primary Industries to determine the species of shark involved,” police said in an earlier statement.
“Two sections of a surfboard have been recovered and taken for expert examination.”
Police say the surfer had been in the water for about 30 minutes before he was attacked. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)
Dee Why Beach will stay shut for the next 48 to 72 hours, while remaining beaches between Manly and Narrabeen will stay closed for 24 hours.
Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) said the man was part of a group surfing to the north of the lifeguard tower toward Long Reef, away from the patrolled area.
“Our deepest condolences go to the family of the man involved in this terrible tragedy,” Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steve Pearce said in a statement.
“Volunteers will continue to assist Council and authorities to protect the public from further danger in any way we can.”
Drones are on the scene scanning the beach for further shark activity.
Beaches between Manly and Narrabeen have been closed. (ABC News: Alexander Lewis)
The Northern Beaches Council has paid tribute to the family, and thanked all the first responders at the scene for their “swift and professional response”, including members of the public who assisted.
“There has been a tragic loss of life on one of our beaches, and our deepest condolences today are with the man’s family and friends,” it said in a statement.
“Beach goers are advised to check the website for ongoing closures in the coming days.”Â
Attack ‘to send shock waves through the community’
A witness told the ABC he was heading to Shelly Beach at Manly when an alert sounded.
“A megaphone announcement from a boat was warning ‘there has been a shark attack, please get out of the water for your own safety’,” he said.
Local Bill Sukala says he was about to head out for a surf when he received a message about the shark attack. (ABC News: Alexander Lewis)
Local Bill Sukala was leaving his house to go for a surf when he got a notification about the attack.
“The next thing the helicopters were setting up and all hell was breaking loose,” he said.
Mr Sukala, who has surfed all over the world in some of the “sharkiest” places, said he could have been in harm’s way had he headed out earlier.
“It’s a risk that every surfer accepts,” he said.
“We don’t like it, we know that statistically it’s an unlikely probability, but yeah, we take it in stride and hope it’s not us.”
Mr Sukala, who started surfing when he was young, said the local community would be spooked for some time.
“I think it’s going to send shock waves through the community, I think everyone is going to be nervous for a while,” he said.
“At some point we’re going to paddle back out — I know people that don’t surf would look at that and go, ‘That’s absolutely crazy’, but that’s the risk that we accept.”
SLSNSW has cancelled all water activities at nearby beaches this weekend.
NSW government investigatingÂ
The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) said biologists would assess photographs from the incident to determine the species of shark involved.
“The NSW Government’s thoughts are with the bite victim, their family and the first responders,” a DPIRD spokesperson said in a statement.Â
“Three SMART drumlines were set by the DPIRD contractor off Dee Why this morning as is normal practice.
“An additional two SMART drumlines have now been set between Long Reef and Dee Why. There is a shark net in place off Dee Why beach.”
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4h agoSat 6 Sep 2025 at 4:34am
That concludes the press conference
Thank you for joining us during our live coverage of NSW Police and NSW Surf Life Saving’s press conference on the death of a surfer who was attacked by a shark on Sydney’s Northern Beaches this morning.
4h agoSat 6 Sep 2025 at 4:32am
Surfing community in mourning
Rod McGibbon from NSW Surf Life Saving said the surfing community at Dee Why will be “devastated”.
“Obviously the surfing community, those that use the beach on a regular basis are all very close,” he said.
“Many people have been using it for many decades and they look out for one another and obviously they’ll all be very devastated.
“From Surf Life Saving New South
Wales and from Northern Beaches Council, we would obviously send our condolences to the family.”
4h agoSat 6 Sep 2025 at 4:25am
Surf board under examination
Inspector Thomson said authorities are currently conducting an examination of the surf board and the man’s body.
Police are hoping this will give clarity on what type of shark was involved.
“My understanding is the Department of Primary Industries were on scene having a look at both the board and the body and hopefully from there, with the advice of the coroner, hopefully we’ll be able to work that out better.”
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