Shark bumps surfer’s board in latest scare

Another shark scare has rocked the Western Australian coast, with a surfer recounting how he was bumped in Mandurah.

Adam Murray, 36, was surfing just 50 metres from Gearys Beach when he was joined by an unexpected visitor about 5pm yesterday.

“I was sitting there, having a chat and just got a bump,” he told 9NEWS today.

The experienced surfer frantically paddled back to shore without turning back.

“I don’t feel like I had a near-death experience or anything, but it was a solid thud,” he said.

Mr Murray’s encounter, which prompted the closure of the beach, happened at the same surf break where surfer Ben Gerring, 29, was killed two years ago.

It comes as shark incidents off WA more than doubled the past summer, with 11 recorded since December.

Two surfers were bitten in Gracetown in separate attacks just hours apart on April 15.

The spike has prompted the government to extend shark-spotting helicopter patrols in the south-west for another month.

Premier Mark McGowan revealed there have been “logistical issues” with securing the helicopter.

“It has other contracts it has to meet in other states… so we’ve been working on what other services we could find to plug the gap,” Mr McGowan said.

Frustrated local surfers have said it is this is the third time in three weeks a Mandurah beach has been closed because of a shark.

They are now pushing for smart drum lines to be installed and more patrols of the coast.

Local Kim Allen is among several who have decided to take matters into their own hands, patrolling the waters off Mandurah himself.

“Safe Waves water patrol is born out of frustration… I shouldn’t have to do it,” he said.

Gearys - and surrounding beaches - have now been reopened.

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