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Fishers are debating the breed of sharks which appear to be nesting in the Swan River, after a school was spotted circling near the Fremantle Traffic Bridge, close to where teenager Stella Berry was killed two years ago.
Vision understood to be taken by construction workers near the bridge spanning the section of river right next to Fremantle Port south show a school of baby sharks in water below.
The SharkSmart website has tracked the school since Monday, with two sightings recorded less than 24 hours apart at the same location.
The public reports estimate the sharks to be between 1.5 and two metres in length, and identified them as bull sharks.
The vision was taken at the same site where 16-year-old Stella Berry was killed by a bull shark in 2023.
Berry had jumped off a jet ski near the bridge to swim with dolphins when she was bitten by the shark, which was later identified by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
However, commercial fisher Glen Foxton, who operates in the Swan River, told Radio 6PR he believed the sharks were likely bronze whalers.
“It’s hard to tell from that video, but I think they’re bronzies. I’ve never seen bull sharks school up like that,” he said.
“I’ve seen bronzies pretty much all through the river up to the causeway, a lot around the Como area, Matilda Bay and quite a lot outside of the Raffles near Canning Bridge.”
Bronze whalers also have habitat versatility, but are less dangerous than bull sharks.
The vision is currently with scientists from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to determine the species of the animal.
Bull sharks are known to nest in the inlets of the Swan River, and while sightings of them are not unusual, marine biologists said any potential school was noteworthy.
A shark tagging program set up shortly after Berry’s death, but it has only caught and released two juvenile bull sharks in the Swan Canning Estuary since its inception.
“The low catch rate of bull sharks is consistent with [the department’s] historical research information,” the SharkSmart website said.
“In the last 24 years (2000-2023) there have been 104 recorded bull shark captures in Western Australia. This excludes recreational and commercial fishing activity.
Speaking after the teenager was killed in 2023, Dr Leonardo Guida, a shark scientist at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said bull sharks were uniquely adapted to live in rivers, with adults cruising near and in river mouths during summer periods to pup and breed.
“Bulls tend to give birth in estuaries where the pups will swim upstream and spend the first five or so years of life in the relative safety of upper reaches of rivers until they’re big enough to head downstream to the ocean,” he said.
Foxton said it was always hard to track shark populations in the Swan.
“I’ve only caught one shark that had ever been tagged … I don’t think anyone’s ever truly got a handle on where they are,” he said.
The department has been contacted for comment.
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