ONE of the three surfers in the water when a shark was spotted at Yallingup’s Main Break on Friday said that he has been concerned for some time about the spate of sightings.
The sighting was one of three over the weekend in the same vicinity, with another reported at the Shallows later that afternoon, and one at Three Bears on Saturday morning.
Brett Merifield, told the Mail about the frightening experience, and said he had avoided surfing earlier that day because he did not want to enter the water alone.
“I’m a regular surfer early in the morning, but there was nobody around so I came home, went to work for a bit and then headed out later,” he said.
“I’ve surfed in the area for years, but because of sharks everyone is more cautious now.
“I don’t want to give up surfing, but it does make you concerned – everyone has the same concerns.
“I don’t know why, but in the back of my mind I was hoping Yallingup was a bit safer.”
Brett was out on the water with two other surfers, who he only knew by their first name but surfed with occasionally as they were all regulars.
“I was one of three who decided to go out for a surf. I caught a wave, and Mark, who was behind me, caught a wave as well,” he said.
“It was then that Gavin came in, yelling out about how he’d seen two or three fins about 40m from him.
“He said the fin had lined him up and he thought his number was up. We’re all regular surfers, so he knew they weren’t dolphins.”
Brett said the sighting happened just as he was planning to finish his session at around 11am on Friday.
It was not the first time a shark had been spotted in the area, he said, and added that it was becoming increasingly concerning.
“About two weeks ago, one of my mates saw a fin in Yallingup, and there has been a few sightings in the last few weeks.
“Basically among the surfing community, there is a lot of concern with the sightings.”
