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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Environment
Daisy Dumas

Are shark attacks on the rise in Australia? And what is being done to reduce the risk of fatal interactions?

Charlie Huveneers Mercury Psillakis Rob Harcourt Australia United States Paul Butcher DPIRD Drone First Aid New South Wales
Signs at Long Reef beach in NSW after a shark attack on Mercury Psillakis.
Signs at Long Reef beach in NSW after a shark attack on Mercury Psillakis earlier this month. Photograph: Ayush Kumar/Getty Images

Mercury Psillakis had spotted the shark. Moments before he was fatally attacked by what is believed to have been a 3.5-metre great white last Saturday at Long Reef beach in Sydney, the surfer warned his friends about the animal.

“Merc saved his friends in the surf,” his family said in a statement this week. “He was aware of the risks of the ocean, and while he loved surfing, he was always vigilant about keeping himself safe. Unfortunately, this was a tragic and unavoidable accident.”

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