Minister issues 'extraordinary' catch-and-kill order for shark after fatal attack

In short:

WA's fisheries minister has ruled out a widespread shark cull after a swimmer was fatally attacked by a great white at a beach in Perth's northern suburbs.

Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis has instead authorised for the great white to be captured and killed.

What's next:

The minister has flagged increasing the use of drones and tagging to protect beachgoers.

Western Australia's fisheries minister has taken the unusual step of issuing a catch-and-kill order for a great white that fatally attacked a swimmer at a beach in Perth's northern suburbs on Friday.

Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis, however, has ruled out a widespread shark cull.

The search continued this morning for the great white, which killed the 63-year-old man close to the Sorrento Beach shoreline yesterday morning in front of shocked onlookers.

Beaches across Perth's northern suburbs remain closed today as emergency services continue their search for the man's body.

The victim's grief-stricken family visited the beach earlier today, as locals paid their respects with a floral tribute at the site.

Ms Jarvis said she took the "extraordinary step" of giving authorisation for the shark to be captured and killed after it was positively identified as the animal involved in the attack.

"In making that decision, I considered the exceptional circumstances of the attack, the hazard posed by the shark, and the potential recovery of coronial evidence," she said.

Loading...She said capture gear, which is essentially a type of drum line that is normally used to tag sharks, was deployed yesterday in an effort to catch the untagged great white.

The gear could not be set up today, however, due to unfavourable weather conditions and choppy waters.

Shark cull 'not appropriate'

Ms Jarvis believed it was the first time in 10 years that a catch-and-kill order had been issued in WA, but said a widespread cull of white sharks was "not appropriate in these circumstances".

"White sharks are protected internationally," Ms Jarvis said.

"This is not the return to the idea that we would cull all apex predators in the ocean.

"I don't want to give people a false sense of security. I cannot mitigate all risks."

The man's death was the third fatal shark attack in Western Australia this year and has reignited debate about how to keep beachgoers safe.

More drones, tagging on the table

Western Australia's shark mitigation strategies have been focused on tagging and tracking, an app for notifications, warning sirens, shark enclosures and personal deterrents.

Ms Jarvis said the government would review this strategy to see what more could be done to protect beach goers.

"This is incredibly distressing and I will certainly be talking to my colleagues across emergency services and police to better understand what more we can do for shark mitigation," she said.

Ms Jarvis said she had spoken with the police minister, and deploying more drones to spot sharks along WA's vast coastline was "absolutely under consideration".

The state government already funds the use of drones for Surf Life Saving WA clubs who want to use them for events, including those involving children.

She said the government would also review its tagging program to see if it could be increased.

More than 300 sharks have been tagged in Western Australia, including 227 white sharks.

When asked about the shark enclosure that was removed from Sorrento Beach in 2020, Ms Jarvis said she would be happy to revisit the issue with the City of Joondalup.

"There are funds available for local governments who wish to put up beach enclosures and so I'm happy to talk to any local government that wishes to go down that path," she said.

Beaches remain closed

Beaches across Perth's northern suburbs remained closed on Saturday as the search continued for the 63-year-old man's body.

All beaches in the City of Joondalup, from Marmion to Iluka, will remain shut while authorities assess the situation.

It has been a decade since there have been this many shark attack deaths in the Perth metro area.

Friday's fatality comes days after 56-year-old firefighter Mel Ismail was injured in a shark attack at a Geraldton beach, about 400 kilometres north.

Earlier this year Steven Mattaboni died after a shark attack off Rottnest Island and spearfisher Daniel Turpin was killed near Albany a few weeks later.

The last time three people died in shark attacks in WA in a single year was 2020, when two people were killed off Esperance, and another person was fatally attacked off Cable Beach in Broome.