University lecturer Doreen Collyer named as victim of second fatal shark attack in Western Australian waters within five days as authorities seek to kill animal

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The second shark victim in West Australian waters within five days has been named as university lecturer Doreen Collyer, as authorities try to catch and shoot the animal believed responsible.

Collyer, a lecturer with the school of nursing and midwifery at Perth’s Edith Cowan University, was hailed as a much-loved and respected colleague, mentor and teacher.

The 60-year-old was diving about 1km off Mindarie marina in Perth’s north when she was fatally mauled on Sunday, less than a week after surfer Ben Gerring, 29, was attacked by a shark at Gearies break at Falcon, south of the city.

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Western Australia’s fisheries department said if it caught the shark believed to be responsible for Collyer’s death, it would be shot.

Fisheries officers have closed beaches and reset baited drum lines 1km off Mindarie marina, where she was fatally mauled on Sunday.

Gerring died on Friday night at Royal Perth hospital with his pregnant fiancee at his side.

It was the first time two fatal shark attacks had occurred in Western Australian waters within such a short period of time, the Fisheries metropolitan regional manager, Tony Cappelluti, said on Monday.

“From my recollection, we’ve had them maybe months apart but probably never several days apart,” he said.

A large shark was caught by baited drum lines on Wednesday, close to the site where Gerring was attacked, then towed further out to sea where it drowned.

Cappelluti said any shark caught in the wake of Collyer’s death that fitted the description of the one that attacked her would be shot.

“If we catch a shark of the description and the type of shark that we believe may have been responsible – and like the Falcon incident, we believe it is a white shark of at least three metres in length ... then it is highly likely we will take the decision to destroy it in the interest of public safety,” he said.

“We have two methods: we can either let it expire on the line or we can use a firearm. In this instance today, we’ll be using a firearm.”

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Cappelluti said salmon were abundant in Falcon waters when Gerring was surfing, but there were no obvious shark attractants with the latest fatality.

The deaths have reignited debate about WA’s policy to catch and kill sharks deemed an imminent threat to public safety.

The state premier, Colin Barnett, defended the decision to do so but ruled out a return to permanent drum lines in the water, which was trialled in 2014 but not extended after the Environmental Protection Authority recommended against it.

Barnett admitted the program – which resulted in the death of 172 sharks but not a single great white – had been a failure and he was concerned the attacks had damaged WA’s reputation as a tourism destination.

“The evidence, some of it anecdotal, seems to be that there are significantly more sharks off our coastline,” he said. “There seems to be more large sharks, particularly great whites, and they seem to be closer to the beaches.”

The state government was constantly reviewing shark hazard mitigation strategies, he said, but there was a limit to what it could do to protect the public.

The safest approach was to use patrolled beaches, he said.

“There’s no doubt, if you swim on the beaches and you swim in controlled areas through surf life saving clubs, you are safe,” he said.

“Yes, there’s probably improvements that we could make to have more information more readily available but people have to take some responsibility if they’re going to isolated surfing locations or diving off our coastline.

“The danger is always there.”