Rare shark catch-and-kill order issued after swimmer fatally attacked in Western Australia

A shark that fatally attacked a man off a beach in Perth’s north will be “destroyed” if it is captured, after an order was issued by the Western Australian (WA) government.Emergency services were called to the popular Sorrento beach at about 10.30am on Friday after reports of a shark-related incident.Western Australia police said a man (63) had been bitten by a shark while swimming along the coast. He died as a result of his injuries, police said.Emergency services, including water and air personnel, conducted an extensive search of the area. The swimmer’s body has not been found.READ MOREWater police requested the shark be captured to assist with the recovery of potential coronial evidence. Police and fisheries officials remain in the area and nearby beaches are still closed.Authorities in Perth’s Joondalup area, where Sorrento is sited, said all beaches were closed “as a precautionary measure” and would stay shut least midday on Sunday.As the hunt for the animal remained under way on Saturday, the WA fisheries minister, Jackie Jarvis, revealed she had greenlit the order.“Given the shark had been positively identified, remained in the vicinity following a fatal attack and was considered to pose an ongoing threat, I authorised fisheries officers to destroy the shark if captured,” she said in a social media post.“My deepest condolences are with the family and loved ones of the 63-year-old man who tragically lost his life at Sorrento Beach yesterday,” Jarvis said.“This is an incredibly sad and distressing incident and my thoughts are with everyone involved.”Locals were urged to stay out of the water until the beach was declared safe for swimming.A witness, Darrel Haythornthwaite, told 7News that he could not believe the incident had occurred, “especially in a place like this”. He said the man’s friend, who was swimming with him, made it back to shore but was inconsolable.“He felt bad because he didn’t go back to save his mate and I said, ‘Nah you couldn’t have done that’,” he told the outlet. “There’s nothing that anyone could have done.”Another witness, Ingrid Mitchell, told 9News she swam at the beach every day and did not expect sharks to attack outside dawn and dusk.“There was other swimmers in there ... just near the seaweed, and there was one poor girl there who was sunbaking, and she saw the whole lot as well,” she said.Another witness, Jacqui Rapaic, told the ABC she was walking along the beach with a friend when the incident occurred.“My friend said, ‘Jac, I think there’s been a shark attack,’ and I looked out to the ocean and I could see a pool of blood,” she said.“I hugged on to my friend ... [we] felt rather traumatised at that point. It happened so quickly.”The fatality followed a shark attack on Monday at the remote Glenfield beach, north of Geraldton on WA’s midwest coast, that left a surfer with serious injuries.He was taken to the nearby Geraldton health campus and was in a stable condition. – Guardian, with AAP