Sydney shark attacks: Tony Abbott, victim Mercury Psillakis’ brother warn after 3 maulings, beaches closed

The brother of a deadly shark attack victim has called recent Sydney incidents “not normal,” as experts, including Surf Life Saving NSW’s chief executive, predict more danger and former PM Tony Abbott demands action on Facebook.

Three shark incidents rattled Sydney beaches in just 26 hours, including a man left in critical condition at Manly’s North Steyne Beach on Monday night.

Surf cameras recorded a fellow surfer dragging him unconscious from the water around 6.20pm, with paramedics performing CPR as a rescue helicopter circled above.

Eyewitness Max, who spoke to Sunrise on Tuesday, described the chaos: “We were sort of just standing on the beach... a group of backpackers ran and started screaming and yelling and pointing at the water.”

“We looked out and we could see two other surfers. They were dragging one guy in from all the way back.”

He praised the rescuers: “The real heroes were, I think their names were Ash and Eduardo, they paddled this guy from all the way out the back, blood everywhere... Dayan quickly put on the leg rope as a tourniquet.”

Surfer Mike Psillakis, whose brother Mercury died in a fatal attack in September 2025 at Dee Why, posted on social media: “This is not normal to have so many attacks.”

“Surfers have always surfed in conditions like this. This is unprecedented!”

He blamed “an imbalance of depleted fish stocks and too many bull sharks.”

The cluster began Sunday with a young swimmer seriously hurt at Nielsen Park in Vaucluse, followed by an 11-year-old boy’s surfboard being bitten at Dee Why on Monday.

The Dee Why victim told Manly Observer he felt “very lucky” after being knocked off his board: “I’m physically fine, but I’m obviously rattled, and the board has a chunk taken out of (it) and a couple of bite marks in it.”

“I was on the board when the shark came up and bit it. I got knocked off the board. One of the guys out there went over to me and helped me get back in to shore quickly,” he said.

His board went to NSW Fisheries for shark species analysis, with witnesses estimating it at 150cm long.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott took to Facebook, calling the Harbour attack “terrible” and stating, “we cannot put the protection of sharks ahead of the safety of people”.

“Three shark attacks in three days in Sydney. This didn’t happen because of the weather or time of day but because there are too many sharks,” he said.

The keen surfer urged restoring commercial shark fishing in Sydney Harbour, arguing “It’s way past time to reintroduce the shark fishery”.

Shark experts have warned of a bull shark spike over the next week due to warm waters, storm runoff and poor visibility.

Steven Pearce, CEO of Surf Life Saving NSW, told Sunrise on Tuesday morning: “Do not enter the water for swimming or surfing for the next 48 hours. This is unprecedented. To have this in the 24 hours.”

He noted Northern Beaches closures for 48 hours due to “turbidity and just the murkiness of the water,” with lifeguards on jet skis, drones at ten beaches, a rescue helicopter and 34 drumlines deployed.

Mr Pearce praised the lifesavers’ response at Manly: “Our lifesavers were able to get out onto the beach straight away, apply a tourniquet, commence CPR... They’ve done a tremendous job.” Beaches will be reassessed in two days once runoff clears.

Shark expert David Baxter noted bull sharks thrive in current conditions: “The fact is that the conditions were just right for a species like a bull shark, we’ve got dirty water, a lot of the runoffs from the creeks and the drains, and that it stimulates the curiosity of sharks,” he told the ABC.

They investigate by biting since they “don’t have hands, so they feel with their mouth,” often severing arteries. He advised avoiding murky, overcast days.