{"id":497327,"date":"2026-06-17T12:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T12:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/497327\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T12:38:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T12:38:19","slug":"coogee-shark-attack-how-sydney-surfers-are-shifting-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/497327\/","title":{"rendered":"Coogee shark attack: How Sydney surfers are shifting habits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

Veteran surfer Nick Carroll is not one to change his habits following shark attacks after more than 50 years spent chasing waves at Sydney\u2019s beaches.<\/p>\n

But the 66-year-old has watched many surfers and swimmers shift their routines in response to a surge in shark encounters: elderly ocean swimmers hugging the shoreline, nervous parents telling their children not to surf for weeks, or experienced board riders becoming extra vigilant when entering the water.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer competitive surfer, paddle coach and surf journalist Nick Carroll expected beachgoers would gradually return to the water.James Brickwood<\/p>\n

The mauling of 35-year-old swimmer Leah Stewart<\/a> by a great white shark at Coogee Beach on Saturday has reignited debate about ocean safety measures and prompted many Sydneysiders to rethink their swims and surfs. Some remain unfazed, many take extra precautions and others avoid the water altogether.<\/p>\n

Stewart remains in a critical but stable condition at St Vincent\u2019s Hospital after undergoing several surgeries, including amputation of an arm. The young mother\u2019s family have said they are \u201cshocked and devastated\u201d by the attack.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Leah<\/a><\/p>\n

Carroll, a surf journalist who lives in Newport, said he noticed surfers and swimmers on the northern beaches drastically changed their habits after Mercury Psillakis, 57, was killed by a shark<\/a> at Dee Why in September.<\/p>\n

Many had returned to the water \u2013 albeit \u201chyperaware\u201d of potential shark encounters \u2013 at the start of summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen in late January there were the bull shark attacks<\/a>, and they had a seismic effect on surfers and swimmers everywhere in Sydney,\u201d Carroll said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople had just begun to relax in the last two to three months \u2026 I think a lot of surfers had dived back in.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow this attack in Coogee has come as a real shock. There will be a lot of people who will change their habits again, and it will take months for them to get over it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carroll, who is also a lifesaver, expected beachgoers would gradually return to the water. He warned against swimming and surfing alone and urged people to avoid the water after heavy rain when visibility was poor.<\/p>\n

\"LeahLeah Stewart, pictured with her daughter, was attacked by a great white shark at Coogee on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the first thing to remember is a dangerous shark encounter is still a really rare thing \u2013 it doesn\u2019t happen very often,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping the Department of Primary Industries\u2019 shark science experts will be able to provide a little bit more public guidance to people this coming summer about what to expect [about shark risks and activity].\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Drone<\/a><\/p>\n

North Bondi real estate agent and surfing enthusiast Ric Serrao was desperate to try his new custom Pyzel surfboard when he headed to Bondi Beach hours after the Coogee attack on Saturday.<\/p>\n

He was cautious, but the sight of two other surfers boosted his confidence. However, when a person on a jet ski told them three sharks had been spotted at nearby McKenzie\u2019s Bay minutes earlier, the trio called it quits.<\/p>\n

\u201cHas it stopped people? Not in my network. I think people are still going out [if the beaches are open]. Bondi was a ghost town on Saturday, but there was also no swell,\u201d Serrao said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can assure you if there was swell, we all would have been out there surfing and just been a bit more wary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite this, Serrao had been avoiding surfing when no-one else was in the water or conditions were murky, skipped sunrise and sunset, and was taking more notice of his surroundings. He has also fitted a shark band to his board.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely been on our minds. Yes, I\u2019m a lightweight, but a little bit of self-preservation doesn\u2019t hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CoogeeCoogee Beach was closed following the attack.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n

Surfer Nigel Riley, who also lives at Bondi, said he was still getting in the water but was more selective about the conditions. Riley supports a shark cull, and said the potential dangers played on his mind \u201cevery surf\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got shark eyes on all my boards, on all my dive gear. I\u2019ve got a shark band,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix months ago I was in the surf, it was unreal, there was salmon everywhere, and I thought, \u2018whatever\u2019. Nowadays if I see salmon, I\u2019m straight out of the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Independent Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby said a \u201cshark survey\u201d, compiled by her office, of more than 780 northern beaches residents found 93 per cent expressed concern about shark activity, and 86 per cent were now avoiding the water, changing the times they entered the water and choosing different locations.<\/p>\n

Seventy-eight per cent said they felt safer in the water when shark-spotting drones were flying, and 82 per cent support increased drone surveillance. Several reported feeling too scared to enter the water, or uneasy and unsafe when they did.<\/p>\n

Surfers on the northern beaches have also been tracking confirmed and suspected shark encounters to inform residents and collect data on what they say is an increasingly frequent phenomenon.<\/p>\n

The survey found significant frustration that drones were not flying at the times surfers most used the ocean.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Scruby is seeking to amend the Fisheries Management Act to include the requirement to protect human life in coastal waters, particularly concerning interactions with marine predators.<\/p>\n

Her private members\u2019 bill would also establish a coastal safety advisory body that would include commercial and recreational fishing experts, surfers, shark behaviour experts, marine biologists, coastal surveillance drone operators, and AI drone experts to co-design and help co-ordinate shark mitigation programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want surfers to be safe and for our way of life to be protected,\u201d Scruby said.<\/p>\n

Surf Life Saving NSW can fly drones over Sydney\u2019s beaches to spot sharks in the water, but there were no drones in the sky above Coogee on Saturday due to restrictions preventing them under Sydney Airport\u2019s flight path.<\/p>\n

Premier Chris Minns said the shark-spotting drones would now be flown at Coogee<\/a> after an agreement was struck with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. He told Sky News he wanted to see drones equipped with AI to trigger alerts for shark sightings.<\/p>\n

Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said she would \u201clove to see\u201d drones flying over all Sydney beaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be no limit on the price we spend to keep swimmers safe. Fortunately, with the advancement of drone technology, that shouldn\u2019t be a massive budget impact,\u201d Sloane said.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"JessicaJessica McSweeney<\/a> is a reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald covering state politics and urban affairs.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[85,46,141,386],"class_list":["post-497327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}