A three-metre juvenile is among 10 Great White sharks to take up residence near popular Victorian beaches, prompting experts to encourage ocean-users to get 'shark smart'.
It comes as swimmers are also being told to avoid the beaches in Port Phillip Bay due to faecal contamination.
Following heavy rain, the Environmental Protection Authority Victoria is warning swimmers there is a a risk of catching gastroenteritis.
Last week, sightings of multiple Bronze Whalers closed popular Victorian surf-coast beaches.
Shark Environmentalist Kent Stannard educates people about shark behaviour from a humble caravan he drives from beach-to-beach, mostly on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
Mr Stannard is working with the CSIRO to tag, track and count Great White sharks, and says the odds of interaction between humans and sharks in Victoria will increase with time.
“There are more people using the water - technology has improved 10-fold in terms of surfing and diving equipment so people are staying in the water longer,” he said.
Great Whites, the species blamed for recent attacks on the New South Wales north Coast, have been tracked to Victorian waters - predominantly in the mouth of Port Phillip Bay near Point Lonsdale.
Mr Stannard says attacking humans isn’t the shark’s prevailing objective, but it can happen.
“These are young sharks that are a bit like petulant teenagers they are just testing their mettle and developing their hunting skills,” he said.
Life Saving Victoria is conducting aerial surveillance, particularly around popular swimming and surfing beaches.
Despite the closure of beaches last week, some surfers continued riding waves prompting a warning from veteran life saver Julian Feller.
“Do as you're told basically - if you’re told to get out of the water there's a good reason for it."
Kent Stannard says when it comes to sharks there’s no room for complacency and ocean-users must take responsibility to educate themselves.
“Look out for school fish surfing around river mouths, these all sound basic rules but people need to bed these in their thought processes when they use the water,” he said.
