Chapter 3.6.1
Updated 1 Oct 2026 · Grant
In short
Before the water: assess and set up to see early. During a sighting: judge the risk, then monitor or clear the water. After: sixty minutes, a clearance sweep, and a report.
This is how the Club manages shark risk for Nippers and for every other in-water activity. It runs in three phases — before, during and after — and the decisions belong to the Water Safety Supervisor (WSS) or the Patrol Captain.
No member or Nipper goes in until the WSS or Patrol Captain has done a formal risk assessment. It takes a few minutes and has three parts.
The SharkSmart WA app for active alerts and recent detections
Regional networks and local feeds, including @SLSWA on X/Twitter
Some conditions make a shark both more likely and harder to see. Cancel or change the activity if you have:
Murky water — you cannot see what is there
Bait fish schooling close in
A whale or seal carcass in the area
Poor light — early, late, or heavily overcast
Use the lifeguard tower if one is installed and available — an elevated spotter with binoculars and a radio sees far more than someone at water level
Put the club drone up if you have one
Have the IRB, jet ski and extra rescue boards ready on the sand, not in the shed
Keep activities closer to shore
A sighting counts whether it comes from the club drone, a public drone, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, an IRB or jet ski crew, someone in an elevated tower, a tagging receiver buoy, or any other credible report.
What happens next depends on the risk, and there are only two levels to decide between.
What you are looking at:
The shark is under 2 metres
It is moving away from water users
There is no aggressive behaviour
What to do:
Monitor — step up visual and drone tracking and keep it up
Report — log the details with SurfCom or the State Operations Centre
The beach does not normally close. If anything changes, treat it as higher risk
What you are looking at — any one of these is enough:
2 metres or longer, within 500 metres of shore
Longer than 3 metres, within 1 kilometre of shore
Swimming toward water users
Feeding or aggressive behaviour
What to do, in this order:
Sound the alarm — a continuous siren tone, or the drone loudspeaker
Get everyone out — all participants and any other water users, immediately and calmly
Drop the flags — the red and yellow patrol flags come down
Close the area — put up the Shark Hazard and Swimming Not Advised signs at the club access points
⚠ Powercraft during a closure
While the beach is closed, powercraft stay off the water. The two exceptions are helping people out of the water and a genuine emergency. Before an operator and crew go back on the water afterwards, a risk assessment must be completed.
⚠ The 60-minute rule
The patrolled area and every club in-water activity stay suspended for at least 60 minutes from the last confirmed sighting or detection. If there is another sighting, the clock starts again.
The Patrol Captain or WSS must confirm the area is clear, by one of:
A full aerial search by drone
A full water search by powercraft
The all-clear from the helicopter crew, if they are in the area at the time
Complete the official Shark Report Form and log it through SurfCom straight away — that is what updates the public safety apps such as SharkSmart, so the next person on the beach knows too.
Check that the specialised severe trauma and shark bite first aid kits are fully stocked and somewhere you can reach them fast. They carry arterial tourniquets and severe haemorrhage control, and they are no use in a locked cupboard.