A shark killed Maria’s husband two months ago. This is what she says Sydney’s beaches need

3 months ago 16

The widow of shark attack victim Mercury Psillakis says her husband’s death “left a place in my heart that I can’t put into words”, as she calls for a revamp of alert systems at Sydney beaches to prevent other families experiencing “the darkness that we’re feeling”.

Maria Psillakis said “questions need to be asked” about the measures to protect surfers, two months after Mercury, 57, was killed by an adolescent great white shark at Long Reef Beach.

Maria Psillakis has called for a review of the state’s shark attack mitigation strategies two months after her husband was killed on Sydney’s northern beaches.

“He was my biggest protector, my daughter’s biggest protector, he was our everything, our rock,” Maria told Nine News.

“If anything can come out of this, if we can make a positive out of this loss, I just want to minimise the risk and perhaps prevent this from happening to another family … we just don’t want anyone else to feel the darkness that we’re feeling.”

Mercury was praised for his bravery in the moments before his death, having instructed surfers near him to form a huddle after he spotted the shark.

He remained at the back of the group as they made their way to shore, about 80 metres away, and died in the water after his board was bitten in half.

Maria and Mercury Psillakis, pictured with their daughter.

Maria said she had “several questions” about what shark mitigation strategies were in place before Mercury’s death, and has been given “a lot of contradictory information”.

“A lot of it doesn’t make sense to me,” Maria said. “I have a little girl that keeps on asking why, and I don’t know what to tell her.”

She called for the expansion of an existing drone surveillance program at beaches in NSW, more frequently used at regional surf breaks than in Sydney.

Her proposal has been raised directly with Chris Minns, according to local state MP Michael Regan, who said the premier was “making sure” the idea is investigated.

Thousands of people attended the paddleout remembering Mercury in September.

“He [Minns] doesn’t want a knee-jerk reaction, so I think it’s positive that he’s looking at different alternatives and just wants to see what the evidence is, and then move forward,” Regan said.

“We all know Merc, and if you’ve heard, he was a very community-minded, community-spirited human, I think that would be a fantastic legacy for Mercury.”

Maria said her family, including Mercury’s twin brother Mike, have been “overwhelmed” by community support since his death, particularly the Long Reef Boardriders club.

More than 1000 surfers took to the water at Long Reef and Dee Why in September for a paddleout tribute honouring Mercury, three weeks after his death.

Surfers, who typically take flowers into the ocean in a paddleout, were asked to carry palm fronds to honour Mercury’s affinity with palms.

Maria said her husband saved a handful of endangered palm species, and was “just a lover of nature”.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.