By ANNA USHER

Seven shark bite trauma kits will be bolted up across five of Mosman’s most popular swimming beaches, months after sharks slipped inside the netted enclosure at Balmoral Baths and forced the baths to close.

Council staff will fix the kits at Balmoral, Edwards Beach, Clifton Gardens, Sirius Cove and Chinamans Beach. Each is a sealed, grab-and-go pack of bleeding-control gear, kept at the beach as a just-in-case measure should the worst ever happen.

They will sit beside the defibrillators and lifebuoys already in place. Balmoral gets two, at Balmoral Baths and the Tramshed, while Edwards Beach gets two more, near the Balmoral Pavilion and the Clem Morath pool. Clifton Gardens, Sirius Cove and Chinamans Beach each get one.

The kits cost $160 each, or $1,120 all up, and will be fitted by Council’s own Property and Works Team at no extra cost, drawn from the open space budget.

A response, not an alarm

The report said shark interactions in the harbour were “extremely rare” but could carry severe consequences, and called the kits a “reasonable and proportionate” precaution rather than a sign the beaches are unsafe.

The move follows a councillor motion in July that asked staff to investigate trauma kits at Balmoral and other swimming beaches. That push came after a run of shark scares at Balmoral, where specialist divers were sent in when predators were spotted inside the netted baths in March.

Council notes the kits at Tuesday night’s meeting, with installation to follow.