Family watch horrific moment teen girl is mauled to death by shark
A teenage girl who was killed by a shark while surfing at a notorious stretch of Western Australian coast died “doing something she loved.”
Laeticia Brouwer, 17, was surfing with her father Leon at Kelp Beds, Wylie Bay, just a few kilometres from Esperance, when savaged by a yet to be identified shark on Monday.
He dragged the badly bleeding girl to shore with the help of another teenager. Police said her mother and two siblings were watching helplessly from the beach.
Ms Brouwer arrived unconscious at Esperance hospital after losing a substantial amount of blood and doctors were unable to save her.
The family from Mandurah were holidaying in Esperance and were surfing at a spot with a history of shark attacks and sightings.
Her uncle Steve Evans told the media they were heartbroken.
“The ocean was her and her family’s passion,” he said.
“The surf was something she’d do with her dad and sisters.”
Surfer Sean Pollard lost his arms in a shark attack at the same beach in 2014.
That incident prompted the Department of Fisheries to deploy drum lines. Two great white sharks were caught including one that was tagged.
But the practice was discontinued following a change of government.
New Western Australian fisheries minister Dave Kelly confirmed on Tuesday that drum lines were not being used.
"We made it clear in opposition that we don’t see the merit in automatically deploying drum lines because they don’t actually make our beaches any safer," Mr Kelly said.
“We want to focus on promoting individual shark deterrents which can actually provide genuine protection to the people who are most at risk.”
High shark population presents unique problem in remote WA
Shark expert Michael Brown of Surfwatch Australia also doubts the effectiveness of drum lines in reducing the shark danger in Western Australia.
“It’s a very different situation to what we have in Sydney and at mainstream beaches,” Mr Brown said.
“The stretch of coast between Margaret River and Esperance would have one of the highest populations of great white sharks on the planet.
‘The area is so remote that we cannot patrol them and a big problem is the response time in such a remote area.
“Once you are hit the clock is running.”
Mr Kelly said Wylie Bay beach would remain closed for at least 48 hours and until the Shire of Esperance believed it was safe to reopen.
Fisheries officers are patrolling waters for the shark but are yet to identify the species.
Esperance police officer acting Senior Sergeant Ben Jeffes told the ABC the surfboard could hold the key to identifying the shark species.
"We'll be forwarding that to the scientists at the Department of Fisheries,” he said.
“And they'll attempt to identify what type of shark we're dealing with here and that will assist them I presume in their patrols out on the ocean."
