Great white shark likely killed Aussie surfer: biologists

Australian biologists said yesterday a great white shark measuring up to 3.6 metres (12 foot) likely killed a 57-year-old surfer off Sydney this weekend, as authorities stepped up surveillance for the predators.

The experienced surfer, identified by Australian media as Mercury Psillakis, was mauled to death by a shark on Saturday off a popular beach in northern Sydney, police and rescuers say, leading to a string of beach closures.

The man, who left a wife and young daughter, lost "a number of limbs" and his surfboard was broken in two. It was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 2022, when diving instructor Simon Nellist was killed off Little Bay.