Shark attacks prompt calls for life-saving trauma kits along our coastline

Wollongong Greens Councillor Jess Whittaker is hoping her notice of motion to the first council meeting of the year will help save lives at our beaches and popular surf spots.

Cr Whittaker wants to see Wollongong included in the rollout of rapid response shark-bite trauma kits across the state, part of a $2.5 million boost to summer beach safety from the NSW Government.

Her motion follows an unprecedented four shark attacks in as many days in NSW earlier this month, one resulting in the death of 12-year-old Nico Antic, and another seriously injuring Wollongong surfer Andre de Ruyter.

Shark-bite kits were installed immediately at Sydney’s northern beaches immediately after the recent attacks.

“It’s really tragic and we always say it’s very rare when there is a shark attack, but it's really shocking and it affects the whole community,” said Cr Whittaker, herself a keen surfer. “It’s a horrible feeling to have a predator attack you.”

She will ask her fellow councillors at Monday night’s meeting to seek the cost of procurement, installation and maintenance of up to 20 rapid response shark-bite kits at all of Wollongong’s surf spots. It’s an initiative she believes could save lives.

At present the NSW Government is providing funding for an additional 150 Community Shark Bite Kits to be placed at beaches outside metropolitan areas.

The kits, which were on display at North Wollongong Beach last Friday as part of the government‘s SharkSmart education campaign, include a tourniquet, compression bandages, dressings, a thermal blanket, gloves and first aid instructions for a serious bite injury.

“At about $70 for a kit, they’re pretty low-cost and the feedback from places where they’ve been located, they haven’t been tampered with,” Cr Whittaker said.

Having surfed for most of her life, the councillor says she understands the risk and that the recent spate of attacks “definitely made me more conscious of looking at the water quality”.

Experts say there is a greater risk of shark attacks soon after heavy rains when the surf becomes more murky.

Councillor Whittaker believes more education about the times when the risk of shark attacks is more likely should be included with an extension of the trauma kit rollout.

“These are wild places and we can’t protect you from everything, but we can give information. Is it dawn or dusk? Is the water murky? Has there been a recent big storm event?

“When people enter the water between the flags they are safe. But our beaches aren’t patrolled till nine in the morning, and there are no patrols where the majority of people surf.

“I’d like to see these kits placed at as [many of] our most popular surf breaks as possible. There are so many along our coast.

“Providing these kits would be practical, low-cost, and act as a visual warning for everyone.”

Cr Whittaker will ask for the support of her fellow councillors to seek funding opportunities for the kits to be installed along our coastline as soon as possible through the NSW Government’s SharkSmart Program.

At present, that program includes tagged shark listening stations at Stanwell Park and Wollongong City Beach, drone surveillance at Windang, Puckeys, Coledale and Stanwell Park, SMART drumlines at 22 locations, and shark nets at Wollongong City, North Wollongong, Thirroul and Austinmer Beaches.