A BIG shark seen swimming near the Lancelin jetty was the only reported sighting along the coast between Jindalee to Lanclein in recent weeks, according to the Department of Fisheries.
A department spokeswoman said while there were no acoustic receivers between Jindalee and Lancelin, all sightings reported to Water Police were reported and mapped on Sharksmart and reported through Surf Life Saving WA twitter feed.
On Wednesday, July 6 at Lancelin Surf Life Saving WA tweeted there had been a public sighting of a 4m shark of unknown species sighted at 12.31hrs on Wednesday, July 6 at Lancelin 100m offshore and 50m off the jetty, staying in position and surfacing often.
The spokeswoman said there had been no further reports about this shark, or any other sharks in the area.
The department put out a press release sent on Saturday, July 3 saying there had been six reports of an unknown species of shark and one report was for a white shark sighted between Hillarys and Trigg.
“It is not uncommon for a shark/s to remain in an area if there is some environmental attractant such as schooling fish or a whale carcass, but investigations by the department have not found any evidence that this is the case over the period of the recent sightings between Trigg and Hillarys,’’ he said.
“Water users should assume that sharks may be present at all times of the year and assess their water use accordingly.
“They should use the tools available such as Sharksmart and the SLSWA twitter feed for the latest information about detections and sightings in waters off the Western Australian coast, and help other water users stay informed by reporting any sightings to Water Police.”
Keep informed of the latest detection and sighting information by checking the Shark Activity Map on the SharkSmart website – www.sharksmart.com.au/shark-activity or the Surf Life Saving WA Twitter – twitter.com/SLSWA.
If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600.
All shark sighting information reported to Water Police is provided to response agencies, so beaches can be closed if needed, and to the public on both the SharkSmart website and Surf Life Saving WA Twitter feed.
Check www.sharksmart.com.au/news for current alerts and warnings.
