www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3219336/Huge-Great-White-shark-spotted-just-500-metres-Long-Reef-beach-Sydney.html
I stupidly went for a windsurf an hour or so before sunset on Sunday at Makaha/ Long Reef. Fickle wind and big surf, nobody else out other than a couple of kiters over the headland at Longie. I've never seen so many fish thrashing around in the water either and then I had to swim my gear in just before dark as the wind swung more westerly. It was very eerie...now even more so with that shark footage.
Spoke to a guy I know who had been out SUPing at Makaha on Sunday. Got a very bad fin gash in his foot. He said he was floating around in all the blood and left a trail as he scrambled in. Then you see the size of the noah from the fisho's Gopro and think faaarrrkkk!!!!!!! Scary stuff.
Apparently a bit of a regulat between Northy and Longy.
definitely a spooky swim in from Makaha. I've done that a few times.
Waves looked great at butterbox yesterday and NE was up late, anyone sail?
Yes they are out there indeed.......
Last Wednesday 26th August three of my SUP mates were at Ocean Beach Umina SUPing when they spotted a large shark about 3m long just outside the break hanging around. There were lots of fish around as well.
Was big enough to get them all to come in.
Did not get close enough to tell what type it was.
That looks like it was shot a long way from the beach. I am sure there are plenty of sharks around the area but I doubt there are too many close to the break especially when it's big.It's not all that deep around the reef area at Makaha. I'd venture to say a great white that size wouldn't go anywhere near water that shallow just to have a look.
Select to expand quotestehsegler said..
That looks like it was shot a long way from the beach. I am sure there are plenty of sharks around the area but I doubt there are too many close to the break especially when it's big.It's not all that deep around the reef area at Makaha. I'd venture to say a great white that size wouldn't go anywhere near water that shallow just to have a look.
Yeah, just keep telling yourself that when you're treading water a few hundred meters out!
Been a bad year for sharks. Thankfully I haven't seen any lately. But I know there around- too many schools of nervous salmon... Sharks will happily go in any depth of water if there's a chance of an easy meal.
I can't recall when there are been so many deaths, injuries and scares from interactions with sharks on the coast of NSW in such a relatively short period of time. Has something changed?
Select to expand quoteJohn340 said..
Has something changed?
I think it's a combo of a few things. (1) Whites' are protected- so their numbers are growing every year. and (2) Inshore beach netting has removed much of these sharks food supply- mullet, tailor, bream, blackfish, mulloway etc. These juvenile white pointers (which are primarily an inshore shark in their younger years) are basically left with two readily available food options- salmon (which are still in good numbers due to having no commercial value) and people.
There's really no reason why things are going to get any better. The way it is, things can get only get worse. Unless the protected species title is removed, or beach haulers catch rates are reduced (to add a few more species to the menu) things will remain pretty hairy when swimming in the ocean. Hopefully I'm horribly wrong as I near live in the ocean
Time will tell I guess...
I was sailing off the vacant lot on the same Sunday and was about 30m from the shore, heading out, when the water exploded on the surface with fish about 10m either side of me. I knew there was a big fish causing this commotion so I gybed to come in and on my way in there was another similar explosion of fish on the surface all around me. I don’t think this was the 5m Great White reported in the paper but I have no doubt it was caused by a very big fish. Interestingly, when I came into shore I watched for about 20 minutes as the circle of exploding fish gradually moved northwards parallel to the shore. It was almost like the fish were being herded. I’ve spotted bronzies (bronze whalers) before out at Little Makaha so Noah's are out there most times anyhow but I think the current increase in shark numbers is likely due to the increase in the numbers of pelagic fish that are about.
there is an interesting article over at swellnet. http://www.swellnet.com/news/surfpolitik/2015/08/11/north-coast-shark-activity-new-theory
I was kinda interested in this myself because I spend a bit of time in northern nsw so started googling some stuff and so now I'm an internet expert... 
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I read some interesting stuff and a couple of things jumped out.
there was a study into the east Australian current that found the amount of upwelling off the northern nsw coast is directly related to the position of the East Australian Current. the closer to the coast the more upwelling. The shape of the EAC also has an influence on the water temps. A thin EAC stream tends to leave a pool of colder water along the coast.
There are some studies from WA that say that white shark attacks generally occur in water temps less than 20deg and are more likely when the whales are migrating.
so my leap of faith here is that the position of the EAC and the Upwelling due to wind and EAC position has formed an area of activity along the coast of NSW which the sharks are feeding in. if the area of upwelling was further offshore I'd guess the sharks would be further offshore.
if you look on the BOM sst charts the area along the coast is below 20deg and the area off the coast is above 20 deg.
one thing is for sure that area from Byron to Ballina is the most wildlife packed piece of water I've ever seen.
A four metre great white was spotted off marmong yesterday afternoon. I was out on formula gear enjoying the north easterly when I bumped into my brother in law out on his yacht. While having a chat he casually informs me that the guys at marmong cove marina told him a 4 metre great white had been spotted. I was a bit sceptical but when I got back to shore one of the guys who works at the cove had come up to warn me and he definitely looked a bit rattled. Nice of the guy to come and warn me 
it looks like I'm sailing somewhere else today.
