Leah Stewart, the 34-year-old teacher attacked by a shark at Sydney's Coogee beach, is no longer in critical condition and 'remembers the whole event in detail,' her brother Joshua said on a fundraising site Thursday. He described it as 'amazing to hear from her so much sooner than anyone expected' and noted she was 'overjoyed' to see her daughter for the first time since the incident almost two weeks ago.
Ongoing recovery and surgeries
Stewart remains in hospital recovering from surgeries, including an arm amputation. 'Her remaining arm has severe tendon and nerve damage which will require further repair and intensive rehabilitation,' Joshua wrote, adding she does not yet have use of her hand. 'Leah still has a long way to go, with an extensive recovery and rehabilitation process that will have her in and out of surgery through the coming weeks. Leah has shown she is so strong, fighting to come back to her daughter August.'
Shark sightings close Sydney beaches
Sydney beaches have been closed for three days in a row due to great white shark sightings. Bondi beach was briefly shut on Sunday, then again on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after authorities were alerted to great whites. Other beaches in the Waverley council area, including Tamarama and Bronte, and in the neighbouring Randwick council area, including Clovelly and Maroubra, were also closed. Drone footage posted by the Drone Shark App showed both great white and tiger sharks at Bondi.
Experts explain shark activity
NSW's department of primary industries said locals 'will have noticed the increasing detections of white sharks on our tagged shark listening stations' but noted 'this is not an uncommon occurrence at this time of year.' Marine biologist and shark expert Rob Harcourt, a regular swimmer at Bondi, said it was the 'peak time of year when they swim past.' 'They follow the Australian salmon, which migrate up the coast. And there are big balls of salmon off the beaches right now. Multiple shark species are coming in to feed on the salmon, because they're big, fat, juicy and full of calories,' said the Macquarie University emeritus professor.
Prof Culum Brown, head of the Fish Lab at Macquarie University, said most sightings or interactions involve juveniles, which typically move along the NSW coast in late autumn and early winter. 'The adults are often out in the ocean. They travel big, big distances and spend a lot of time offshore. Juveniles tend to be far more coastal, and they also move up and down reasonably, predictably.' Brown added that after a certain growth period, juvenile sharks begin 'experimenting' with food sources, switching from a fish-oriented diet to incorporating seals, turtles, and larger prey, and 'unfortunately, occasionally they approach swimmers and snorkelers, divers, more often than not, spearfishermen, and of course, the surfers.'
Local resident's perspective
Eugene Tan, a 52-year-old photographer who has lived in Bondi for more than 30 years, was among those ushered away when Bondi's shark alarm blared on Tuesday. One of his two teenage sons was in the water at the time. 'As a parent, you worry that something happens. But they came in. The lifeguards called everyone in and said 'It's a great white, take it seriously',' Tan said. He noted he has 'never physically seen a great white shark in the bay' at Bondi in three decades. 'To see through that [Drone Shark App] that one has been visiting the bay every day for three days in a row is pretty crazy. I mean, it's unprecedented.' Tan said the family has 'never not gone in the ocean' but this week 'does feel like something's quite different.' 'The whole family's not in the ocean. The risk is just too high, and especially with a white pointer … it's kind of the pinnacle of threat in the ocean.'
NSW government response
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said this week the government would roll out 'world-leading' shark drones across more of the state's beaches. 'We'll be using technology that's available, but hasn't been rolled out at scale anywhere in the world, not in California, not in Florida, [nor South Africa] … places where you've got developed world economies, large tourism populations and sharks. We'll be first,' Minns said on Wednesday. Professor Harcourt welcomed the move, saying it would 'not only make people feel safer, but it'll probably ensure that they are safer. But what it will also mean is that we spend less time in the water … with more drones in the air, you'll spot those sharks that were always there, but just weren't seen before.'
