Anglers catch seven large bull sharks in Gold Coast waterway in past two weeks
A group of anglers say they have caught seven large bull sharks in Gold Coast waters in the past two weeks alone.
Measuring up to three metres in length, the bull sharks have moved into the estuaries to drop their young.
Local waterways include anywhere that has salt or brackish water including the ocean the Broadwater, the rivers, the lakes and the canals, News Corp reports.
Some anglers have reported catching up to a dozen juvenile sharks in a single night.
The fisherman from Mad Fins Fishing say they have caught seven bull sharks measuring over 2.85 metres, four of them over three metres, in the past two weeks.
"We only do catch, tag, and release with circle hooks," Brendan Elmslie, host of Mad Fins Fishing, told Yahoo7.
Mr Elmslie said while this could be concerning to local community, it is still perfectly safe to be in the waters.
"It’s not a swam of sharks - this is just a migratory season that happens every year Australia wide for the sharks to breed and feed," he said.
"It’s not a plague of shark and it is normal and still safe to be in all the waters to swim boat and ski."
Mr Elmslie said it's safe because the sharks do not see humans a "food source".
"Large amounts of sharks are in the water with people all the time," he said.
There's a huge number of anglers along the east cost with over 50 anglers tagging sharks in north NSW and south Queensland to help research the bull sharks.
Gold Coast Bait Shop owner Paul Anderson told News Corp the appeal of shark fishing was being able to go big-game fishing for a fraction of the price.
“All you need is a small eel for five bucks and a rig which is about $10. Grab a sixpack and that’s going to be you for the night,” he said.
“I’ve been a commercial yabbie harvester my whole life and I had no idea how many sharks were out there until I went out and caught 12 sharks in a night.”
The anglers are highly dedicated to catching and releasing the marine predators and take part in the NSW Department of Primary Industries tagging program which helps collect data on the animals.
Findings from the program have revealed sharks can migrate from as far as Sydney to Townsville annually.
The hot spots for bull sharks in the Gold Coast include Freshwater Point, Budds Beach, Surfers Paradise, Arthur Earle Park, Nerang River, The Gold Coast Seaway, The Monaco St bridges, Broadbeach Waters, Old Tamborine Road, Coomera River, Lake Orr, Varsity Lakes, Coomera Weir, Coomera River, and Albert and Logan Rivers.
