News and Alerts

Update on 21 July at 5.30pm
The Whale Carcass reported at Hangover Bay, south of Cervantes has now been removed.

Caution is still advised as any residue from where the carcass was beached may still attract sharks to the area

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to a whale carcass being reported at Hangover Bay South of Cervantes.

Update on 21 July at 7.50am
The Whale Carcass reported to be at Boranup Beach North of Hamelin Boat Ramp has broken up and is no longer ashore. The site will be further assessed this morning.

As an extra precaution warning signs have remained in place . If there are no further shark sightings, the signs are expected to be removed today.

Alert issued 18 July:

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to a whale carcass being reported at Boranup Beach near Hamelin Bay in the shire of Augusta Margaret River.

Alert level:

• A shark WARNING has been issued after an interaction with a shark was reported at Floreat Beach.
• The warning has been extended to cover the area between Scarborough to Fremantle based on white shark sightings and the presence of whale carcasses over the last week.

Update on 13 July at 3.35pm

• The whale carcass has moved from North Mole and the current location is unknown.
• There is likely to be residue from the carcass in the area that will continue to act as an attractant for sharks
• There has been a sighting of one white shark off Port beach and one tagged white shark was detected at the Leighton shark monitoring network receiver today.
• Water users should continue to exercise additional caution in the area

Update on 11 July at 2:33pm

• Due to current weather conditions, and the location of the carcass, the carcass is unable to be removed from it's current location at this time.
• Authorities will continue to monitor and reassess the situation over the next few days.
• The shark advice for the Fremantle area remains in place.
• In addition to the shark advice, members of the public are asked to stay clear of the decomposing carcass due to health and safety risks.

Alert issued 11 July:

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to a whale carcass being reported on the northern side of the North Mole, near Port of Fremantle.

Update 11 July, 2:40pm:

Water users in the Bowes River area are advised that based on the remote location, the whale carcass will not be removed. The shark advice for the area remains in place. Members of the public are asked to keep away from the carcass, due to health and safety risks.

Alert issued 10 July:

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to a humpback whale carcass being washed ashore north of Geraldton, approximately 8.7 km south of the Bowes River mouth, near Horrocks.

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to a whale carcass being reported 400m offshore at Back Beach, Geraldton.

Update 12:30pm on 9 July:

The updated location of the whale carcass today is that it remains offshore and is currently 5.4km north-west of Mindarie. A school of sharks has been reported feeding on the carcass.

The warning area of Ocean Reef to Alkimos is still in place.

Alert issued 8 July:

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued due to a whale carcass being reported at Staggies Reef, 1km offshore from Mindarie.

** Update 8 July at 07:30am 

Outage resolved, and all systems now fully operational. 

Alert issued 7 July:

Alert level:
A shark ADVICE has been issued for Western Australian water users due to a partial outage in the shark notification system tonight. Minor delays in messaging may occur.

• WA’s shark monitoring network has expanded to 27 satellite-linked receivers
• The receivers have now been installed at Kelp Beds and West beaches
• Detections and sightings are posted to SharkSmart and SLSWA’s Twitter feed

Western Australia’s shark monitoring network has been bolstered with the installation and activation of two new satellite-linked receivers in Esperance now complete.

• WA's shark monitoring network extended to Esperance
• Satellite-linked shark detectors to be installed at Kelp Beds and West beaches
• Weather permitting, the receivers will be installed this month

Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly today announced Kelp Bed and West beaches in Esperance have been selected as the locations for two new satellite-linked tagged shark detectors.