Warnings as sharks caught in C’bin Creek
RUMOURS of a popular Gold Coast creek being riddled with bull sharks were confirmed yesterday after a local angler claimed to have hauled in five of the creatures this week.
Footage of an 86cm female juvenile bull shark being hauled out of the brackish Currumbin Creek was uploaded to social media by Tim Patterson, who said it was caught “up the creek” and far from the creek’s entrance to the ocean.
While bull sharks are common in the northern canal systems off the Nerang River and the mouth of Currumbin Creek, many locals believed the creatures were unlikely to be found so far upstream.
But Mr Patterson’s video seems to dispel those myths.
“(It was caught) up the creek, I won’t say exactly,” Mr Patterson wrote. “With landing five and losing four (this week) it’s safe to say we have an abundance of these young bulls.”
Currumbin Creek is popular for water sports and for people to take their pets to cool off.
After catching the shark, Mr Patterson can be seen releasing it back into the creek.
Gold Coast City Council has installed new shark warning signs at Robina’s Lake Orr.
The latest safety push comes four years after the council last launched a campaign to improve canal safety.
In late 2014 the council installed 40 signs around the city’s waterways after reports emerged of bull sharks bumping into boats on Lake Orr.