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A 63-year-old man identified as Greg O’Neil was swimming with a friend about 15 metres from shore at Sorrento Beach in Perth’s north when a large great white shark, believed to be around five metres long, attacked him in shallow water around 10:15am on September 18. The victim was pulled under repeatedly in an incident witnessed by onlookers who described scenes of blood in the water, according to reports compiled by The West Australian. Emergency services conducted air, sea and shoreline searches but had not recovered his body by Saturday morning, police stated. His family described him as a passionate swimmer and generous personality in a statement to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis issued the catch-and-kill authorisation after water police spotted and positively identified the shark on Saturday morning, The West Australian reported. “It is very unusual to make this catch and kill order,” Jarvis told reporters. “I think it’s the first time in 10 years that this has been done. But given the circumstances here, I think it was entirely appropriate.” The order allows fisheries officers to destroy the animal if captured, primarily to assist with coronial evidence recovery and because it posed an ongoing threat, she added in comments carried by multiple outlets including WA Today.
Jarvis emphasised that the measure was not part of a broader cull, noting it was taken in exceptional circumstances after police requested the action. The shark was not among the approximately 300 tagged sharks monitored in Western Australian waters, the minister said. She announced plans to increase drone surveillance and tagging as part of the state’s shark mitigation programme to better protect beachgoers.
This incident marks the third fatal shark attack in Western Australia this year, following the deaths of 38-year-old Steven Mattaboni off Rottnest Island in May and 35-year-old Daniel Turpin near Albany in June, according to a timeline published by The West Australian. A non-fatal attack on a surfer at Glenfield Beach north of Geraldton occurred earlier in the week, AAP News reported. Since 2000, 24 people have been killed in shark attacks along the state’s coast, data compiled by the same outlet shows.
A marine biologist warned WA Today that shark bite rates in the state are increasing year on year, linking the trend to climate change impacts on marine ecosystems. Experts have called for greater government intervention to address the rising risks, the publication noted. The latest fatality has reignited public debate over beach safety measures in a region where great whites are common in coastal waters.
Beaches from Marmion to Iluka in the City of Joondalup remained closed until at least noon on September 20 as a precaution, the state government announced. Patrols by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development continued over the weekend, according to official alerts. Floral tributes appeared at the site as O’Neil’s grieving family visited the beach on Saturday morning, The West Australian reported.
