Bull sharks spotted at The Spit: Harrowing warning for Mosman dog owners.

By ANNA USHER

Dog owners are being urged to keep their pets out of the water after three Bull Sharks were seen circling in water near Spit West Reserve on the weekend.

The predators can be seen circling near D’Albora Marina, just metres from where local dogs are often seen cooling off in the summer heat.

One eyewitness, a boat owner who was getting ready for a day of fishing, told Mosman Collective the sharks appeared around 1pm on Saturday.

“The water clarity was very good, and they were easy to see, which was pretty amazing,” he said.

“At least one of the sharks had a tag on its dorsal fin.”

The boat owner said with local water temperature around 26 degrees, people need to think twice before allowing their dogs into the water.

“Sandy Bay in Clontarf is a safer option for dogs to swim because the water there is shallow,” he added.

“But at this time of year there is no way I would allow my dog into the harbour.”

Experts warn that bull sharks are more active in Sydney’s waters during the summer months when water temperatures rise between 20 and 26 degrees. They advise swimming in enclosures and avoiding water activities at dawn, dusk, or in murky conditions.

Watch: Three bull sharks spotted at The Spit.

When water temperature dips below 19 degrees, they head north to Queensland for the winter and spring.

The last fatal attack on the city’s harbour or beaches was in February 2022 when British diving instructor Simon Nellist was killed by a great white shark off Little Bay in Sydney’s east.

It was the first in Sydney since actress Marcia Hathaway was fatally mauled while swimming in Middle Harbour in 1963 – as reported previously in Mosman Collective.

The tragedy came just eight years after Mosman boy John Willis, aged 13, was killed by a shark at Balmoral Beach.

While deaths from shark bites are thankfully rare, some years can see a spike in attacks, leaving some of the victims with serious injuries.

In January 2024, 29-year-old Lauren O’Neill suffered significant injuries to her leg and blood loss after being attacked by a bull shark at Elizabeth Bay.

O’Neill was bitten just before 8pm, in waters above 25 degrees.

During the late summer of 2009, there were three incidents in just two weeks.

The victims included Royal Australian Navy clearance diver Paul de Gelder, who lost a hand and leg during a military exercise in Sydney Harbour.

Humane Society International Australia marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck says the best thing to do was educate the public when it was safe to swim.

This includes avoiding water activities at dawn, dusk and night, swimming with other people when possible, keeping away from murky or dirty water with effluents or sewage, and avoiding areas with signs of bait fish or fish feeding activity (diving seabirds can show whether a spot is heaving with fish).

“We know bull sharks are opportunistic and can be aggressive, they are the only shark that tolerates (fresh water),” he said. “It’s unlikely the shark was planning on feeding in this instance, but it got a sense of something in the water around it and was just exploring its surroundings,” he said.