Shark attack: Pyramids Beach to remain closed, local swimmers unfazed

Mr Zawadzki, an apprentice electrician and Mandurah local, was attacked off the beach before being rushed to Peel Health Campus and then transferred overnight to Fiona Stanley Hospital for surgery.

A fisheries department spokesperson said the department had decided against setting traps as sharks had not been sighted since Wednesday evening.

The fisheries department also stationed a patrol boat off Pyramids Beach since daylight.

However, swimmers from Surf Dogs, a group of locals who meet every morning at 6am to swim in waters near where the attack occurred, said although they were concerned about sharks, they were unfazed.

“We had a few jokes about it, so no we weren’t that worried,” Rhonda Jessup from Surf Dogs said.

“We stay this side of the reef mostly, so it’s more of a worry for surfers who see sharks the other side of the reef.”

Fellow swimmer Steve Koehne said he sometimes sees sharks at first light.

“It’s the ocean, so it’s their environment, and there is a much richer marine life since the cut went through,” he said.

Nerissa Wenn, also from Surf Dogs, said she was concerned, but would not be stopping her early morning swimming.

“It’s always at the back of your mind,” she said.

“Why are they coming in?

“There definitely seems to be more sharks and it’s not going to stop.

“The one that will get you will be the one you don’t see.”

Although Surf Dogs did not agree that culling sharks was the right solution, they believe destroying animals which posed a threat was necessary.

Ms Jessup said Surf Dogs looked out for each other every morning during swims.

“There’s safety in numbers,” she said.

“You should swim to your capacity and we make sure we don’t leave the beach until everyone is out of the water.”