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Newcastle beaches remain closed

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Newcastle beaches could reopen after being closed for nine straight days due to shark sightings.

The great white shark may have disappeared but wild weather and big surf have rolled in to keep most of Newcastle's beaches closed.

The city's beaches officially reopened on Monday after a record nine days of closures due to repeated shark sightings.

A five-metre great white shark, nicknamed Bruce by locals, and another three-and-a-half metre shark had been spotted in the breaks offshore.

The large great white was first spotted off Merewether Beach on January 10, before it was seen swimming up and down the nearby coastline throughout the week.

"It's a great relief for everybody but we're still going to maintain a higher rate of surveillance than we normally would," said Nobbys Beach inspector Paul Bernard.

City Council spokeswoman Dana Fischetti said Novocastrians hadn't been too perturbed by the shark threat.

"Really most people have just taken it in their stride," Ms Fischetti told AAP.

"We haven't had anyone call up about doing something about the shark.

"People are pretty accepting that it's their habitat, so when one comes along we just wait for it to go away."

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Newcastle beaches remain closed

Shark search continues, NSW beaches closed

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Labor has renewed it's call for clemency for the two members of the Bali Nine on death row in Indonesia.

Beaches along the Newcastle coast are expected to remain closed as authorities scour the sea for two sharks.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has criticised the 'patchwork quilt' approach to bikie laws in Australia.

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Police will conduct interviews as they search for the mother of a baby found buried at Maroubra Beach.

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Shark search continues, NSW beaches closed

Newcastle beaches to remain closed as shark search continues

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Surfers choosing to hit the water at Merewether Beach after Newcastle Beaches were closed due to shark sightings. Photo: Darren Pateman

Beaches along the Newcastle coast are expected to remain closed as shark spotters continue to scour the sea for the two fearsome ocean predators that have lurked offshore over the past nine days.

The five-metre great white, nicknamed Bruce, and a three-and-a-half metre shark that lunched on a dolphin last week, have not been seen since Friday.

A spokesperson for Heliservices Newcastle said crews will take to the air on Sunday to try to spot the sharks, before a decision is made to reopen the beaches.

On Friday a 17-year-old boy was bitten on the hand by a 1.5m shark at Mollymook Beach, about three and a half hours south of Sydney.

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Sam Smith was flown to a Sydney hospital with lacerations to his hand sustained after he tried to film the shark while spear-fishing.

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Newcastle beaches to remain closed as shark search continues

Newcastle's beaches closed all weekend but a dolphin pod pays a visit

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Newcastle's beaches will remain closed this weekend, but a few surprise guests on Saturday morning left lifeguards with a smile.

"We're starting to see a few dolphins back in the area," said Newcastle beach inspector Scott Hammerton, on a record eighth-day of beach closures in the area.

Several massive sharks were seen feeding on dolphins off two of Newcastle's beaches on Thursday, one, nicknamed Bruce, reported as afive-metre, 1700-kilogram great white shark, the other "as big as a car".

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One of the sharks spotted off the coast of Newcastle is said to be 'as big as a car' but how does it compare to some of the biggest Great Whites seen around the world?

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Newcastle's beaches closed all weekend but a dolphin pod pays a visit

Playing: Half-Life 2|Let’s Play|PC||Pt. 12 Storming the Beaches – Video

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Playing: Half-Life 2|Let #39;s Play|PC||Pt. 12 Storming the Beaches
It #39;s Part 12 of my Let #39;s Play of Half Life 2 on PC. It #39;s the beaches of Nova Prospect, expect casualties. Playing: Half-Life 2 Pt. 13: http://youtu.be/Y73xyCyt4n8 Playing: Half-Life 2 Pt....

By: Sylid

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Playing: Half-Life 2|Let's Play|PC||Pt. 12 Storming the Beaches - Video

Sharks close Australian city Newcastle's beaches for 7th day; boy bitten on hand elsewhere

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Published January 16, 2015

SYDNEY Beaches at the Australian city of Newcastle were closed for a seventh day on Friday after at least two large sharks were sighted in coastal waters. Meanwhile, a teenage spear fisher was attacked by a shark 390 kilometers (240 miles) to the south.

A 5-meter (16-foot) great white shark estimated to weigh 1.7 metric tons (1.9 tons) had been spotted daily since last Saturday until Thursday off the coast of Newcastle, a city of 315,000 people 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Sydney, Newcastle City Council said.

At Ulladulla, a coastal town 230 kilometers (140 miles) south of Sydney, a 17-year-old boy was attacked by a shark.

Paramedics treated the boy for lacerations to his hand and fingers, ambulance service spokeswoman Jackie Levett said. The boy was taken to a hospital in a satisfactory condition, she said.

Luke Sisinni, who was diving with the boy identified as Sam Smith, said his friend was attacked while attempting to video a 1.5-meter (5-foot) shark.

"He said it spun around and started coming for him, so he stabbed it with his spear to try and scare it off, but it just went ballistic and bit him," Sisinni told The Milton Ulladulla Times news website.

Nearby Narrawellee Beach was closed following the attack. However, hundreds of volunteer lifeguards continued to compete in a championship competition 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) away at Mollymook Beach.

In Newcastle, photographs appeared in Australian media of a 3.5-meter (11-foot) shark mauling a dolphin on Thursday off Burwood Beach, 200 meters (yards) from where divers were ignoring the beach closure by spearing fish.

A 3.5-meter shark was again spotted off the same beach on Friday morning, the council said in a statement. It was not clear what type of shark it was or whether it was the same shark as attacked the dolphin.

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Sharks close Australian city Newcastle's beaches for 7th day; boy bitten on hand elsewhere

"It just went ballistic": Shark attack shuts South Coast beaches

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Sharks have forced the closure of popular beaches to the north and south of Sydney.

Two popular South Coast beaches have been shut after a 17-year-old Sam Smith's arm was apparently mauled by a shark.

His friend said he watched the teen surface, screaming that he had been bitten.

"It started coming for him, so he stabbed it with his spear to try to scare it off, and then it just went ballistic and bit him," Luke Sisinno said.

Lifeguards closed Narrawallee Beach and North Mollymook, after the incident happened around midday.

It's understood Smith was spearfishing before he was bitten.

An ambulance spokesperson has told Yahoo7 that the teen suffered multiple lacerations to his hands and fingers.

He was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Milton Ulladulla Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.

An ambulance helicopter was sent, and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter conducted sweeps of the area.

Our lifeguards are monitoring the situation and will take further action if required to protect beachgoers, the Australian Lifeguard Service's Brent Manieri said in a statement.

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"It just went ballistic": Shark attack shuts South Coast beaches

Shark attack shuts South Coast beaches

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Sharks have forced the closure of popular beaches to the north and south of Sydney.

Two popular South Coast beaches have been shut after a 17-year-old Sam Smith's arm was apparently mauled by a shark.

His friend said he watched the teen surface, screaming that he had been bitten.

"It started coming for him, so he stabbed it with his spear to try to scare it off, and then it just went ballistic and bit him," Luke Sisinno said.

Lifeguards closed Narrawallee Beach and North Mollymook, after the incident happened around midday.

It's understood Smith was spearfishing before he was bitten.

An ambulance spokesperson has told Yahoo7 that the teen suffered multiple lacerations to his hands and fingers.

He was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Milton Ulladulla Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.

An ambulance helicopter was sent, and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter conducted sweeps of the area.

Our lifeguards are monitoring the situation and will take further action if required to protect beachgoers, the Australian Lifeguard Service's Brent Manieri said in a statement.

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Shark attack shuts South Coast beaches

Newcastle beaches set to remain closed

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Shark sightings along the Newcastle coastline will shut beaches for an unprecedented ninth straight day but an attack on the NSW south coast couldn't halt a nearby surf lifesaving event.

A five-metre great white, nicknamed Bruce, and a three-and-a-half metre shark that lunched on a dolphin have kept 15km of Newcastle coastline closed this weekend.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old boy was bitten on the hand by a 1.5m shark on Friday at Mollymook Beach, about three and a half hours south of Sydney.

Sam Smith has been flown to a Sydney hospital with lacerations to his hand sustained after he tried to film the shark while spearfishing.

But the attack didn't stop hundreds of competitors at the NSW Country Surf Lifesaving Championships at the other end of the beach.

"The carnival is just south of where the incident occurred," a Surf Life Saving NSW spokeswoman said.

"We're just going to monitor the situation, we don't feel the need to panic everyone."

But in Newcastle, the presence of two large sharks has been enough for beach inspectors to avoid the risk of an attack.

"This is a creature you don't want to encounter," said a Newcastle council spokeswoman.

Swimmers and surfers have been warned to keep away despite the temptation of cooling off in the summer heat.

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Newcastle beaches set to remain closed


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