{"id":430416,"date":"2026-01-22T17:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T17:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/430416\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T17:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T17:36:15","slug":"sydney-shark-attacks-bull-shark-drone-hunters-move-in-amid-multiple-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/430416\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney shark attacks: Bull shark drone hunters move in amid multiple attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Locals have descended on beaches and Sydney Harbour in the wake of multiple bull shark attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Men were spotted on the Northern Beaches on Wednesday using a drone to track a bull shark, as locals stand to watch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">The drone takes out very large pieces of bait to try lure in a bull shark, a stark reminder of how close the predators are swimming to popular beaches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3mk41m-StyledText eze0guv9\">Sign up to The Nightly&#8217;s newsletters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1r9pdr5-StyledSubText eze0guv8\">Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>By continuing you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/thenightly.com.au\/subscription-terms\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Terms<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/sevenwestmedia.com.au\/privacy-policies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Drones are used to catch sharks because the aerial view lets people track the animals safely from above, spot their movements near shore, and drop bait with precision without entering the water, while also being able to cast their lines out further into deep gutters where sharks swim.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Australian\u2019s Instagram and Facebook feeds, particularly in Sydney, seem to have been turned into shark watch, amid growing tensions after four confirmed shark incidents in NSW within 48 hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">The first victim, 12-year-old Nico Antic, remains in critical condition after a suspected bull shark attack near Shark Beach in Vaucluse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Hours later, an 11-year-old boy\u2019s surfboard was bitten at Dee Why, and on Monday night, a local musician suffered catastrophic leg injuries at North Steyne Beach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">On Tuesday morning, a surfer was hospitalised after being bitten on the chest at Point Plomer, near Port Macquarie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Authorities have blamed recent weather and murky tides for attracting bull sharks closer to shore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cThe beaches are unsafe with these conditions,\u201d Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steven Pearce warned, announcing that all Northern Beaches beaches would remain closed until further notice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Amid the heightened alert, shark expert Joel Nancarrow, owner of Hunter Shark Jaw Restoration, urged swimmers to stay out of the water during high-risk periods.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cI can not predict shark attacks, I can just work out high-risk periods due to spending years working out where these sharks will be,\u201d he said in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cThese pictures below are all from the bull shark I caught in Camp Cove in Sydney Harbour yesterday. Even though it\u2019s not a massive shark, the teeth are capable of inflicting catastrophic damage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">He explained that bull sharks feed actively around tide changes and that even clear, calm water can hide danger. \u201cThey are rarely alone \u2014 if there\u2019s one on the beach, there\u2019s more. They stick to the bottom and rarely break the surface until they\u2019re about to feed,\u201d he warned, adding that conditions this week are prime for encounters.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0848c1025b8dbbc47abe0c6050046b5c4f25646f.jpg\" alt=\"Hunter shark jaw restoration\" class=\"css-16r7l45-StyledImage en5ut4d0\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Hunter shark jaw restoration Credit: Facebook<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Mr Nancarrow also urged swimmers to avoid Camp Cove and Shark Bay, where a 12-year-old was attacked, suggesting that a large female shark may have become territorial in the area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Locals have descended on beaches and Sydney Harbour in the wake of multiple bull shark attacks. Men were&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[63,43,44,2733,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-430416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-nsw","12":"tag-top-news","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-topnews","15":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}