In the wake of four shark attacks over a 48-hour period in late January, the NSW coast became a kingdom of fear. The attack on 12-year-old, Nico, in Sydney Harbour ultimately proved fatal, a second incident at Manly involving surfer, Andre de Ruyter, resulted in serious injury and two others were described as lucky escapes. It was generally agreed that bull sharks were responsible for each of the incidents. As the public sought explanations, experts suggested that the coalescence of warm water, heavy rain, nutrients, fish and seasonal migration had created a kind of perfect soup for bull sharks. “When I saw how much rainfall was predicted for that weekend, I was like, the bull sharks will be loving that,” explains Dr Yuri Niella, a scientist from the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, who specialises in studying the movement patterns of sharks, particularly bull, tiger, and white sharks around Australia.

While there were no more reported attacks, sightings were frequent on Sydney’s beaches. The shark soup seemed particularly thick on Sydney’s north side where many were still getting over the fatal attack on Mercury Psillakis at Dee Why in September of 2025. On social media we were served up imagery of dolphins plucked clean by sharks at Bungan, signs showing ‘21 sharks counted at Bilgola’ on a single day and (at time of print) two months straight of sightings at Dee Why.  East coast surfers were spooked; many elected not to surf, while those who did were selective about when and where they paddled out. Surfers ignored emptier peaks, huddled in packs and openly discussed their concerns – this in a culture where mentioning the ‘S’ word has historically been taboo. Meanwhile, the excitement of each ride was tempered by a distinct sense of unease, particularly if it meant a ...