One of Sydney’s most popular beaches was evacuated after a shark was spotted lurking nearby.
A drone operator from Surf Life Saving NSW spotted a shark lurking near Cronulla beach at 8.46am on Monday, prompting a full closure of the beach.
It is unclear yet what type of shark was spotted.
Last week, the NSW government said expanded drone patrols would be taking place throughout the spring and summer period as people living along the NSW coast become more inclined to hit the state’s beaches.
The $120m shark management package follows a series of shocking shark attacks that rocked NSW beaches and Sydney Harbour, most notably in January 2026 when four separate incidents were recorded in 48 hours.
As part of the package, two new tagged shark listening stations have been installed in Sydney Harbor near Balmoral in Middle Harbour and Lady Bay in the Harbour’s east.
The stations will send alerts directly to the SharkSmart app whenever tagged sharks swim within 500m of their location.
A total of $34m from the package has been dedicated to expanding drone surveillance, which officially began on September 1 across 97 NSW beaches.
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