Great white shark washes up on Henley Beach
Warning: This story contains images some readers may find distressing.
Save West Beach Sand has found a 2.7 metre-long great white shark washed up on the beach near the Torrens outlet at Henley Beach South.
It is the second shark to have washed up on the shores of South Australian beaches, after a shark was found at Ardrossan last week.
Spectators said SAPOL and the Department of Primary Industries are attending the scene, with government vehicles unable to help due to getting bogged in the recently dumped quarry sand being soft, according to Save West Beach Sand administration John Dundon.
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The incident comes as marine biologist and conservation activist Dr Mike Bossley said that while surveying the east and south coast of the Yorke Peninsula they found “thousands of dead and dying fish” and one of his group was seriously injured by a distressed eagle ray.
“The Yorke Peninsula from at least Port Vincent to Marion Bay has been badly hit by the harmful algal bloom which has been impacting the Fleurieu Peninsula for several weeks,” Bossley said.
“Many species of fish have been hard hit, but the most severe effects have been on sharks and rays, with many found dead and dying.”
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Dr Bossley said the sharks and rays still alive in the area may be in severe pain as they endure the final stages of life, lashing out at anything in their vicinity.
Several eagle rays attacked Dr Bossley’s group as they snorkelled to assess the underwater damage on Friday.
One person was left with a 16cm ray barb in her arm and had to be flown to Adelaide for surgery. She is now recovering in hospital.
“I’ve snorkelled and dived with eagle rays dozens of times over the years, and never experienced behaviour like this from them,” Bossley said.
“They are typically a shy and placid species, but it seems the algal bloom has caused such severe distress that it has changed their behaviour completely.
“Close by, we also observed a three-metre shark within a couple of metres of the shoreline, a very unusual and potentially dangerous behaviour.”
Bossley said the warm, still weather predicted for the coming week is likely to worsen the bloom, so more devastation is likely.
Swimmers and divers should take extreme care or avoid going into the water altogether until the bloom dissipates.
Although algal blooms occur naturally, the intensity and duration of the current marine heatwave is unusual, he said.
“I have been diving on the southern Yorke Peninsula for almost 50 years, and this is by far the most severe situation I have seen,” Bossley said.
