COOGEE — A woman in her 30s sustained bites to her leg and arm from a suspected great white shark at Coogee Beach on Saturday morning. Her condition was critical but stable following the incident. Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott subsequently advocated for a shark cull.

Abbott released a social media video calling for the establishment of a fishery to catch sharks. He stated that it is incorrect not to cull sharks after attacks. However, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns ruled out a cull, citing the great white shark's protected species status and a lack of expert evidence to support its effectiveness.

Rob Harcourt, an emeritus professor who leads the Marine Predator Research Group at Macquarie University, commented on Abbott's proposal. "Tony Abbott doesn’t understand risk, he does not understand climate change, and he doesn’t understand the science when he calls for a cull." Harcourt said. "What’s the point in a cull? A cull won’t change the risk unless you completely remove white sharks from the ocean. It’s not feasible and it would be an ecological catastrophe."

Culum Brown, a professor researching fish behavior at Macquarie University, also spoke regarding the issue. "We should be looking at ways we can coexist with nature." Brown said. "We should not be having this 18th-century approach to annihilating nature because it threatens us in some way." Lawrence Chlebeck, a marine biologist, added that shark culls are ineffective due to the migratory nature of sharks.

Minns stated that a reconsideration of the state’s shark protection approach is needed, including shark netting and drone technology. "I’m not convinced it would work and we’ve certainly had no expert evidence suggesting to us that we could ward away great whites from our beaches as a result of a cull." Minns said. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority temporarily lifted a ban on using drones for shark surveys at Coogee Beach. Harcourt said, "If you put drones over a beach and then call people in when sharks are spotted then you are less likely to be bitten." Another researcher, Daryl McPhee, said, "Had drones been able to fly, this is one bite that could have been avoided."

Between 1980 and 1999, New South Wales recorded an average of 0.6 shark bites causing injury per year. The current rate is 4.16 per year. McPhee attributed the increase in shark bite incidents to population growth and rising whale populations, which are attracting great white sharks to the coast. Since 2012, state shark nets have resulted in the deaths of 174 great white sharks, 40 bull sharks, and 42 tiger sharks.