A young fisherman has posed with a huge bull shark he claims to have caught and released less than a kilometre from where a teenager was killed last weekend.
Stella Berry, 16, jumped in the river near the Fremantle traffic bridge in Perth to swim with dolphins on Saturday when a suspected bull shark latched onto her leg.
The Year 11 student was pulled from the water by heroic bystanders at about 3.30pm last Saturday but could not be saved.
A young fisherman has posed with a huge bull shark (pictured) he claims to have caught and released less than a kilometre from where a teenager was killed last weekend
On Thursday morning SurfLife Saving WA (SLSWA) said it was reported a 2.5metre- bull shark was caught at East Fremantle Boat Ramp at around 11pm on Wednesday.
SLSWA found out about it after the young fisherman posted photos of himself with the bull shark on Facebook.
A shark alert was subsequently issued for swimmers in the area after the confirmed sighting of a bull shark reported to be about three metres in length.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said it was ‘looking to follow up with the person who made the post today’.
A patrol vessel was also sent to the East Fremantle area to see if it can find the shark.
A huge bull shark was seen on Perth’s Swan River the day before teenager Stella Berry (pictured) was killed by a shark – but was only reported the day after her death
It emerged on Monday that a huge bull shark was seen on the Swan River less than 24 hours before Stella was mauled to death – but was only reported the day after the tragedy.
The 2.5metre bull shark was spotted near the site of the attack at 6pm on Friday, but the sighting was not reported to the Western Australian government’s Sharksmart tracker website until Sunday afternoon.
There are regular bull shark sightings in the river, but Stella’s death was the first fatal shark attack in the Swan River in more than a century.
Several other recent shark sightings have been reported on the Swan River and its Canning River tributary in recent days.
On Thursday morning SurfLife Saving WA tweeted (pictured) that it was reported a 2.5metre- bull shark was caught at East Fremantle Boat Ramp at around 11pm on Wednesday
That included a shark spotted 10metres offshore from the upstream Shelley Bridge on Monday morning.
WA Premier Mark McGowan said his government was ‘urgently’ considering shark barriers in the Swan River due to Stella’s death.
A review into the ‘terribly unfortunate, tragic’ attack was underway, he said, and it would looking at whether barriers could be installed ‘immediately’.
‘We know there’s bull sharks in the river, there always has been … and it’s a very rare event for someone to be attacked,’ he said.
‘But whatever safety mechanisms, particularly those enclosures that give people peace of mind, we’re looking at those as to where we might place one.
A shark alert was issued for swimmers in the area after the confirmed sighting of a bull shark reported to be about three metres in length. Pictured is a bull shark a young fisherman claims to have caught and released on Wednesday night
‘Because what it does is provide families, particularly those with young children, some peace of mind, a bit like the one at Cottesloe or the one at Cockburn or some of the others up and down the coast.
‘The risk of an attack is incredibly low, but I know a lot of people would appreciate that so we’re just looking at what options are out there at the moment,’ the Premier said.
Shark Safety WA coordinator Leon Deschamps said fishing for sharks in populated areas was dangerous as it increased the risk of an attack.
‘Sharks aren’t mindless killing machines by any means,’ he told ABC.
‘But when you’re deliberately setting out to target a feeding shark, to bring in a shark that is hungry, then that’s something which we don’t want.’
Stella Berry (pictured) has been described by friends as the ‘sweetest and smartest’ girl they knew and one who ‘never did wrong by anybody’
He said fishers sometimes drop animal carcasses to attract sharks, but that bait can last for days.
‘Blind Freddie can see that dropping a whole pig carcass where kids swim is risking the lives of not just the kids, but anyone that swims,’ said Mr Deschamps.
Mr McGowan said fishing for sharks in the Swan River was not something he can control.
‘People have always fished in the river, that’s not unusual,’ he said.
‘It’s just that there has been this tragedy, so we will review what can be done, what we can do better, what the circumstances are to make sure we make things as safe as we can.’
