Shark bites are becoming more common – but a cull won’t work

June 14, 2026 — 5:00am

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With the number of shark bites up and down our coastline lately, it’s hard as an ocean-loving Sydneysider not to feel under siege.

Saturday’s attack at Coogee Beach, where a woman was badly mauled by what appears to have been a great white shark (based on drone footage), won’t do anything to dispel that fear.

Of all summers, this was the one that I picked to train for an ocean swim to raise money for cancer charity CanToo Foundation. Then I watched as multiple events on the ocean swimming calendar were cancelled one by one, and I did most of my training in the pool. When I did my event at Bondi Beach in February, I swam through a corridor of water safety crew on boards and boats. The organisers weren’t taking any chances.

My heart goes out to the woman injured at Coogee on Saturday and everyone else who has been hurt........

© Brisbane Times