Sydney shark attack victim named as British expat Simon Nellist

Australian police on Thursday named British expat Simon Nellist as the victim of a fatal attack by a great white shark in Sydney.

Local authorities have deployed baited drumlines to try to catch the predator and move it into deeper waters, with beaches remaining closed after the city's first such attack in almost 60 years.

Nellist, 35, was swimming when he was mauled by the shark on Wednesday and later died of "catastrophic injuries", according to paramedics.

He was described by police as a diving instructor who spent much of his spare time swimming in the ocean. Friends said he was about to be married but that his next great love was the water.

“Everything that is connected to Simon is connected to the ocean,” friend Della Ross told Australia’s 7News.

“The news hit us like a truck because he was one of the people who made this earth lighter,” she added.

Nellist lived with his partner in the Sydney suburb of Wolli Creek, near Little Bay Beach where he killed. Friends said his British relatives were distraught by his death and had requested privacy.

He was reportedly due to compete in a charity ocean swim on Sunday but it has now been cancelled.

Organisers of the Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim had considered postponing the swim till March, but said they decided to cancel it after consulting with the local council and lifesavers.

Nellist was almost certainly attacked by a great white, New South Wales’ Department of Primary Industries said on Thursday.

Experts believe it was nearly 10 feet in length, slightly smaller than the 13 feet originally reported.

"Based on footage provided by the public including eyewitness accounts... shark biologists believe that a White Shark, at least three metres in length, was likely responsible," the department said in a statement.

Six "smart" drum lines, which are used to bait sharks, have been set up near the attack site, while drones and boats have been deployed to hunt for the animal.

Drum lines feature hooks loaded with bait and are used to trap sharks that can then be tagged and moved to deeper ocean away from the coast.

Their use is controversial because hooked animals have been known to die before being moved, and non-target species can become snagged.

Nellist himself had posted about his dislike of drum lines on Facebook. Six months ago he wrote: "Shark nets and drum lines protect no one and kill all kinds of marine life each year.”

With the shark still at large, several Sydney beaches, including the iconic Bondi and Bronte, remained closed on Thursday. 

Authorities have ordered people to remain out of the water on a hot summer day as temperatures hovered around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

"A few crazy surfers still go out and take the risk but most of us take notice and just stay out of the water until the sharks have gone. It's a lot more dangerous driving, to be quite honest," local resident Karen Romalis told Reuters.

Nellist was swimming off Little Bay Beach on Wednesday when he was dragged underwater with what one onlooker described as a "big splash".

Fishermen and other bathers watched in horror as several seconds of violent thrashing was followed by the water turning blood red. 

Paramedics arrived shortly after the attack but were unable to save the man, believed to be a local who swam off the beach regularly.

Police in boats searching the area later found body parts and the remains of a wetsuit near the scene. 

The shark, believed to be at least 13-foot long, appeared to attack “vertically”, fisherman Kris Linto told Nine News. 

"We heard a yell and then turned around, it looked like a car just landed in the water, big splash," he said.

The number of fatal shark attacks in Australia has increased in recent years. There were three last year, including two in New South Wales, according to a database compiled by the Taronga Conservation Society.

Scientists have suggested that the rise is linked to warming sea waters due to climate change, declining fish supplies, and increased internal tourism in the country during the pandemic.