A large school of sharks has gorged on a seafood buffet breakfast near a popular Sunshine Coast beach.
Footage captured by Damien Lange, to the south of Point Cartwright last weekend, shows different types of sharks, mackerel and tuna ripping into a large ball of baitfish.
He said the event, which attracted a vast flock of seagulls, occurred about 100m from the shoreline.
“I was walking along the beach with my daughter and grandkids when I saw all of the birds and the splashing,” he said.
“So, I went back to my van and got my drone and sent it out.”
He said there were “hundreds of sharks”.
“I was blown away,” he said.
“You couldn’t count them. There were ones on the surface but there were multiple layers of them below, including one huge lightly coloured shark.
“There were bull sharks and blacktip sharks, and they were all different sizes.
“It looks like they were eating pilchards or sardines.
“The bait ball was getting smaller and smaller.”
Mr Lange had just returned to the Sunshine Coast after a trip around Australia when he essentially stumbled upon the action.
“I had been looking for sharks to film around the country,” he said.
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“I went to breeding grounds and everything but (saw) nothing, and then I came back home and there were hundreds of them here.
“It was in a once-in-a-lifetime (experience).”
Mr Lange said there were about three bait balls in the area that morning.
“I was wondering which one to send the drone to,” he said.
“The birds were the calling card. There were more birds in one place, so I checked it out.”
Lifesavers on jet skis also kept on eye on the event, which occurred near a popular surfing spot.
“The bigger sharks were bigger than the jet skis,” Mr Lange said before adding that one keen boatie cast a fishing line into the fray.
“He caught a mackerel and threw it back.”
Kawana Surf Club president Shane Gale confirmed that lifesavers attended on two jet skis and the Westpac lifesaver helicopter crew monitored the action from above.
“Any time there are sharks we’ll go out and survey the area and make sure there’s no risk to the public,” Mr Gale said.
He said several baitballs had been spotted recently.
“There have been sightings of them up and down the Sunshine Coast, at different beaches,” he said.
“Typically, we see bait movement from December to February and the predators follow them, so you expect to see sharks around them.”
Bond University Associate Professor of Envrionmental Science Daryl McPhee provided an analysis of the footage.
“The video shows a large shiver of sharks, mostly whaler sharks feeding on what is called a baitball, which is an aggregation of baitfish such as pilchards,” he said.
“The baitfish school up tightly for protection and the activities of predators such as sharks and predatory fish force them to school up tighter and tighter and tighter and this makes them easier prey.
“Also seen towards the end of the video are pelagic finfish, most probably spotted mackerel, also feeding on the baitball.”
Mr McPhee said it was “great footage” that showcased predator and prey.
“There appears to be well over 100 sharks of various sizes,” he said.
“This is a natural event and simply it is part of the ecosystem and part of the food chain.
“Many people may think that the ocean is a friendly Finding Nemo sort of place, but it is not.
“Being a baitfish would not be fun.”
Mr McPhee confirmed that incidents like this occur more often in summer.
“This type of event can occur any time of the year but is more commonly seen in the warmer months,” he said.
‘The abundance of baitfish and their location can vary significantly, including from year to year and this influences where the predators are.”
He said fishers typically targeted such scenarios.
“Many anglers chasing pelagic fish such as mackerel, tuna and billfish look for the presence of baitballs as their target species will not be far behind,” he said.
Macquarie University Professor Nathan Hart also commented on the “feeding frenzy on a bait ball”.
“It’s hard to be sure from the pictures but there could be bronze whalers, maybe a tiger shark and possibly mako sharks,” he said.
“Bait balls bring lots of species in, sharks and larger predatory bony fish as well as the birds.
“It is likely the sign of a healthy ecosystem when there are lots of bait fish around.”
Meanwhile, Gale said swimmers, surfers and boaties should be cautious when baitballs are present.
“Be shark smart,” he said.
“If you see bait balls it’s probably not a smart thing to go anywhere near them.
“If you see something that you think is a danger to other water users, inform them.”
