Sydney Shark Attacks Spur Closures And Warnings

As the sun rose over Sydney Harbour, its iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge bathed in golden light, few could have guessed the underlying anxiety gripping the city’s beach-loving residents. The last week has been nothing short of harrowing for Sydney’s surfers and swimmers, with a dramatic spike in bull shark attacks sending shockwaves through the community and prompting urgent warnings from experts and authorities alike.

It all began with a string of incidents that would leave even the most seasoned ocean-goers rattled. According to NewsWire, between January 18 and January 21, 2026, four separate bull shark attacks occurred in Sydney and on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast—an “unprecedented” number in such a short span, as described by Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce. The attacks included a fatal encounter involving 12-year-old Nico Antic, who was bitten after jumping from rocks at The Hermitage Foreshore Walk near Shark Beach in Vaucluse on January 18. Despite being rushed to hospital, Nico tragically died from his injuries, leaving his parents, Lorena and Juan, and the broader community in mourning.

The following day, an 11-year-old boy narrowly escaped with his life after being knocked from his board by a shark at Dee Why on the Northern Beaches. That same day, 27-year-old musician Andre de Ruyter was pulled under the surface by a bull shark while surfing at Manly Beach, managing to survive the ordeal. Then, on January 21, a 39-year-old man at Point Plomer near Port Macquarie had his surfboard bitten, escaping with only minor injuries. Five attacks in a single week—one child nearly dead, a surfer possibly losing a leg, and a city on edge.

As the fear rippled through Sydney’s surf culture, the city’s beaches—usually buzzing with the energy of summer—fell eerily quiet. Authorities responded by closing beaches along the coast, deploying helicopters and drones to monitor for further shark activity. Pearce urged swimmers to avoid the ocean altogether, saying, “If you’re thinking about going for a swim, just go to a local pool because at this stage, we’re advising that the beaches are unsafe.” The message was clear: safety first, even if it meant missing out on the waves that define Sydney’s lifestyle.

But why this sudden surge in bull shark encounters? According to shark experts interviewed by NewsWire, the answer lies in the weather. Sydney experienced record-breaking rainfall over the weekend of January 17 and 18, with 126mm of rain falling on January 17 alone—marking the city’s wettest January day since 1988. Severe thunderstorms, driven by a coastal trough, lashed the Illawarra, Sydney, and Hunter coasts, causing rivers to swell and stormwater to pour into the ocean.

This deluge, it turns out, created perfect conditions for bull sharks to thrive. Joel Nancarrow, a Newcastle shark fisherman and owner of Hunter Shark Jaw Restoration, explained that heavy rain triggers bull sharks to leave rivers in large groups. “When it rains enough to get the rivers flowing, a number of bull sharks leave the rivers; without this rain, they are all still in the rivers,” Nancarrow noted in a social media post. Instead of trickling out over months, the sharks migrated en masse to coastal waters, increasing the likelihood of encounters with humans.

RMIT senior research fellow Rebecca Olive echoed this assessment, telling NewsWire that runoff from storms increases the conditions that lead to shark bites. “Areas where there are higher stormwater run-offs, such as river mouths, estuaries and stormwater drain outfalls, could encourage more sharks to appear,” Olive explained. The murky, brackish water caused by the runoff impairs sharks’ vision, making them more likely to mistake humans for prey. Macquarie University’s head of the Fish Lab, Culum Brown, added that bull sharks are drawn to freshwater flushes because they can feed on debris and animals swept downstream. “Analysis of bull shark catches close to shore always shows an effect of rainfall,” Brown said. “Sharks’ vision for finding prey will be impeded and will be attracted to disturbances in the water. They are more likely to accidentally bite a person, thinking it is prey.”

The impact on Sydney’s surf culture has been palpable. One local surfer described the unease: “Talking to some local surfers around here, look, they are rattled.” Even as the water began to clear and a four-foot south-east swell kicked off the weekend, the sense of normalcy felt fragile. As chronicled in BeachGrit, Newcastle fisherman Joel Nancarrow caught a half-ton bull shark off Camp Cove on January 22. In a candid video, Nancarrow gave the massive predator a final tour of Sydney Harbour’s landmarks—including the Opera House and Harbour Bridge—before warning swimmers, “Please don’t swim off boats at the moment.”

The public reaction, as captured in online discussions, has been sharply divided. Some praised Nancarrow’s actions, with one commenter exclaiming, “Another potential human life saved! Well done champion, love your work.” Others took a more philosophical stance, arguing that humans are entering the sharks’ environment and should accept the risks. “If a shark has a bite of me or even kills me I wouldn’t want that shark tracked down and killed, we are going into their environment and they are curious to see what is on the menu.” Another, more bluntly, wrote, “Ur a fucking grub mate! We’re the ones in the wrong u grubs!!” The debate, it seems, is as fierce as the ocean itself—do we prioritize human safety at all costs, or accept that sharing the ocean comes with inherent dangers?

Experts urge caution and common sense. Professor Brown advised, “Given the incredible rainfall we have had of late, the risk of encountering sharks is high. Don’t swim after heavy rainfall, especially in and around estuaries.” He also recommended avoiding swimming alone and steering clear of the water at dawn and dusk, when sharks are more active. Olive pointed out that murky water and waves can impact the effectiveness of shark surveillance equipment, making it harder to spot threats before they strike.

For now, as the clouds part and Sydney’s waters slowly return to their dazzling blue, the city’s beachgoers are left to weigh their love of the ocean against the risks that nature occasionally throws their way. The debate over how best to coexist with one of the ocean’s most formidable predators is unlikely to be settled soon. But one thing is certain: in Sydney, where the surf meets the city, the relationship between humans and sharks remains as complex—and as unpredictable—as the sea itself.