In May he organised a paddle out tribute for fellow Dee Why surfer Shane Herring after his untimely death.<\/p>\n
Derek Hynd, a well-known surfer from Newport, remembered Psillakis as a \u201ckeystone\u201d of the local area.<\/p>\n
Police have described Mercury Psillakis’s death on Father\u2019s Day weekend as \u201cparticularly tragic\u201d. Photo \/ NewsWire<\/p>\n
\u201cTo lose such a keystone in Mercury in so radical a sudden way leaves anyone with sense of heritage stone cold heartbroken,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cMassive personal condolences to the immediate extended Psillakis family, his local brethren, and on behalf of the old Newport surfing brotherhood and the core industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another remembered the Dee Why local as the \u201cnicest genuine man getting around\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m lost for words. He was the guy I would hang with and surf with in Sydney, he glassed my boards and taught me a lot about surfboards and more importantly just how to be a good person in and out of the water,\u201d Tim R-Smith said over social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig love to all the family and friends of Merc. You are such a loved man throughout. See you again my old mate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking on Sunday Agenda, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the attack<\/a> was shocking for both his family and the community.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s an experienced surfer, he was part of that surfing community in Dee Why and it\u2019s shocking for his family and for the people of the Northern Beaches. In the first instance, I want to express our sincere condolences to his family and that community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Psillakis leaves behind a wife and daughter tragically just a day before Fathers Day on Sunday.<\/p>\n One witness, Mark Morgenthal, told Sky News that the shark was \u201chuge\u201d, estimating the animal to be about 6m long.<\/p>\n He also described hearing a man yelling out as the shark was seen in the water.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a guy screaming, \u2018I don\u2019t want to get bitten, I don\u2019t want to get bitten, don\u2019t bite me,\u2019 and I saw the dorsal fin of the shark come up, and it was huge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I saw the tail fin come up and start kicking, and the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin looked to be about four metres, so it actually looked like a six-metre shark.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, Minns said Psillakis\u2019 death was an \u201cawful tragedy\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cMy heart goes out to the victim\u2019s family and friends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI also want to thank the first responders and community members who tried to help in such tough and confronting circumstances.<\/p>\n \u201cShark attacks are rare, but they leave a huge mark on everyone involved, particularly the close knit surfing community.\u201d<\/p>\n Northern Beaches Police Area Command Inspector Stuart Thomson told reporters on Saturday afternoon that Psillakis lost \u201ca number of limbs\u201d in the attack.<\/p>\n \u201cHis body was found floating in the surf, and a couple of other people went out and recovered it but attempts to save his life were unsuccessful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand he leaves behind a wife and a young daughter \u2013 with tomorrow being Father\u2019s Day, it\u2019s particularly tragic.<\/p>\n \u201cThe gentleman is an experienced surfer. He was here with a number of mates and \u2026 he\u2019d only been in the water for about half an hour at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomson said the man\u2019s surfboard was broken in half.<\/p>\n \u201cA couple of other surfers managed to see him in the surf and got him back out, but by that time he lost a lot of blood and resuscitation was not possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had suffered catastrophic injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have the exact time how long he was missing but I understand it was a short time.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomson said nearby surfers came to the man\u2019s aid, but could not confirm if they knew there was a shark attack when they jumped into the water.<\/p>\n He said it was horrific for the man\u2019s colleagues, mates and surf lifesavers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was one of those freak incidents that happens very rarely \u2013 obviously there was a lot of people down at the beach, because it\u2019s a beautiful day at Dee Why,\u201d Thomson said.<\/p>\n NSW police and paramedics were at the scene, along with the Westpac helicopter.<\/p>\n Police will liaise with experts from the Department of Primary Industries to determine the species of shark involved.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a number of police boats as well as from Surf Life Saving (and) jet skis, and we were out looking for the shark,\u201d Thomson said.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously we passed that information to Department of Primary Industries, who will be the key agency in terms of locating the shark and determining what to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n The beach is expected to be closed for between 48 to 72 hours, and surrounding beaches for 24 hours.<\/p>\n Beaches between Manly to Narrabeen have been closed pending further advice.<\/p>\n \u2018Doesn\u2019t look good\u2019: Harrowing scenes<\/p>\n Sydney resident Sophie Lumsden was at Dee Why at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cI was sitting at the beach having a coffee and the shark alarm went off. Two minutes later, four ambulances turned up,\u201d she told the Daily Telegraph.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t look good.\u201d<\/p>\n Harrowing scenes have been reported as the man\u2019s family arrived at the scene.<\/p>\n His brother collapsed to the ground and his mother needed physical support to remain standing, the Daily Telegraph has reported.<\/p>\n Loved ones were seen gathering together on the sand near a tent that has been closed off to members of the public.<\/p>\n Several surfers in wetsuits were seen approaching the family group.<\/p>\n First attack in years<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s shark attack is the second in Sydney in the past three years.<\/p>\n A local diver was killed by a great white shark in a \u201crare and uncommon tragedy\u201d in 2022.<\/p>\n Authorities at the time said the incident \u2013 which killed 35-year-old Wolli Creek man Simon Nellist \u2013 was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963.<\/p>\n Trial to remove shark nets<\/p>\n The tragedy comes as three council areas move towards trialling removing shark nets.<\/p>\n Central Coast councillors all voted in favour of a NSW Government trial to remove shark nets from beaches this summer, with representatives saying it was \u201calways disappointing\u201d to see other wildlife caught in the netting.<\/p>\n The state Government has asked Waverley, Northern Beaches and Central Coast councils to select a beach to trial the removal of the nets.<\/p>\n The Department of Primary Industries is expected to select which beaches will be involved in the trial.<\/p>\n The three councils said at the time new technologies were available to prevent shark attacks.<\/p>\n Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins said the council had long been advocating for the removal of the nets from all beaches, and looked forward to receiving more information about the Government\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been advocating for the removal of shark nets on all beaches and replacement with technology that maintains or improves swimmer safety,\u201d Heins said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d like to see the removal of shark nets on all our beaches; however if a trial on one beach as suggested by the NSW Government gets us a step closer to this outcome, we\u2019d welcome it provided they were replaced with appropriate mitigation technologies for swimmer safety.\u201d<\/p>\n A NSW Government spokesperson said safety is the \u201cnumber one priority\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThree local councils, Central Coast, Waverley and Northern Beaches, who have indicated they did not want nets on their beaches, have been invited to be part of a trial where one beach in their LGA will not be netted,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Minister for the Illawarra and the South Coast Ryan Park has acknowledged \u201cwidespread\u201d issues with the nets.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know the problems with nets are widespread, in particular around getting other species of marine life caught in those areas. I know that\u2019s been a challenge in my own community,\u201d Park said during a press conference in July.<\/p>\n \u201cOur priority is keeping our locals and our humans and our visitors safe in the water.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In May he organised a paddle out tribute for fellow Dee Why surfer Shane Herring after his untimely…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[95,806,1975,89,7972,7974,10141,2842,2209,305,78,3375,5158,10138,10136,111,43,139,7977,69,10142,10139,7971,10137,1734,7976,10140],"class_list":{"0":"post-7762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-and","9":"tag-as","10":"tag-at","11":"tag-attack","12":"tag-beach","13":"tag-beaches","14":"tag-begun","15":"tag-experienced","16":"tag-father","17":"tag-have","18":"tag-in","19":"tag-killed","20":"tag-man","21":"tag-mercury","22":"tag-named","23":"tag-new-zealand","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-newzealand","26":"tag-northern","27":"tag-nz","28":"tag-paid","29":"tag-psillakis","30":"tag-shark","31":"tag-surfer","32":"tag-sydney","33":"tag-sydneys","34":"tag-tributes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Plenty of beachgoers were at Dee Why when the tragedy occurred. Photo \/ NewsWire<\/p>\n
First responders were called to the scene at Long Reef Beach after 10am on Saturday. Photo \/ Surfline<\/p>\n
The fatal shark attack has closed beaches between Manly and Narrabeen. Photo \/ NewsWire<\/p>\n
Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n