WA: Witness reports spotting GIANT bull shark day before 16-year-old girl killed trends now
A huge bull shark was seen on Perth's Swan River less that 24 hours before teen Stella Berry was mauled to death - but was only reported the day after the tragedy.
Stella, 16, jumped in the river near the Fremantle traffic bridge 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 about 3.30pm but could not be saved.
It has since been revealed that a 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.
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.
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.
That included a shark spotted 10metres offshore from the upstream Shelley Bridge on Monday morning.
The Western Australian government's Sharksmart tracker website (pictured) shows that a 2.5m bull shark was seen near the Fremantle bridge at 6pm on Friday, but it was not reported until Sunday
The state government is reportedly considering installing more shark nets along Perth beaches and the Swan River, but the use of drumlines has been ruled out.
'These things are difficult to predict and difficult to avoid. No one is at fault,' WA Premier Mark McGowan said.
'We'll get a report from the Fisheries Department into the whole issue. If there's anything to be improved, we will look at any such measures, but it's just a terrible tragedy.'
The City of Melville in Perth's southern suburbs is considering installing a shark barrier around the Bicton Bath jetty, which is halfway between where Stella was killed and a January 2021 attack at Blackwall Reach.
Both Luke and Joshua had been swimming at the same spot 10 minutes earlier and said they were unsettled by the realisation they could have been attacked
On that occasion, a 3metre bull shark attacked father-of-two Cameron Wrathall with such force it broke his hip and left him with critical wounds, but he survived.
Hannah Fitzhardinge, the mayor of Fremantle, 20km south of Perth's CBD, said installing shark nets near the Fremantle traffic bridge may be difficult due to the amount of boat traffic in the area.
But she told ABC radio the council was looking into whether shark nets could be used at the council's other beaches.
The shark sighting revelation comes after two teenage swimmers recalled hearing a 'big scream' as Stella was mauled.
Luke Smith and Joshua Warwick relived the terrifying moment the attack unfolded.
'There was this big scream and then we see a girl just jump off and we see a few fins,' Luke said.
He made the revelation as Stella's parents broke their silence to share their devastation after losing their 'vibrant and happy' daughter.
