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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Sam Smith has been flown to a Sydney hospital with lacerations to his hand sustained after he tried to film the shark while spearfishing. <\/p>\n
But the attack didn't stop hundreds of competitors at the NSW Country Surf Lifesaving Championships at the other end of the beach. <\/p>\n
\"The carnival is just south of where the incident occurred,\" a Surf Life Saving NSW spokeswoman said. <\/p>\n
\"We're just going to monitor the situation, we don't feel the need to panic everyone.\" <\/p>\n
But in Newcastle, the presence of two large sharks has been enough for beach inspectors to avoid the risk of an attack. <\/p>\n
\"This is a creature you don't want to encounter,\" said a Newcastle council spokeswoman. <\/p>\n
Swimmers and surfers have been warned to keep away despite the temptation of cooling off in the summer heat. <\/p>\n
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Newcastle beaches set to remain closed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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. Continue reading