Northern Beaches Council has announced all beaches in the LGA will remain closed today, 22 January 2026, due to ongoing water clarity issues, but are easing towards normal protocols from Friday.
However, each beach will be assessed individually by lifeguards before opening tomorrow morning.
The decision was made with the Department of Primary Industries and Surf Life Saving following local shark attacks this week, with one incident on Manly Beach leaving local 27-year-old musician, Andre de Ruyter, with an amputated leg. He remains in hospital but his mother has reported he is stable.
As a result of heightened shark activity, multiple swimming events have been cancelled, though some remain as scheduled.
The Big Swim has been cancelled for just the second time in its 52-year history, with organisers calling off Sunday’s planned ocean swim from Palm Beach to Whale Beach. Organisers said the decision was made after discussions with Northern Beaches Council and Surf Life Saving NSW, citing heightened shark activity and water quality concerns.
The Sydney Harbour ‘Splash’ also made the decision to cancel its tenth anniversary, which was to be held on Monday, 26 January. The charity event hosts a 5km swim from Rose Bay around the harbour to raise money for dementia research.
Event organisers say they have consulted NSW Police and senior harbour and waterways personnel, deciding to cancel out of respect for the 12-year-old boy who was bitten on both legs by a shark in Sydney’s East at Vaucluse on Sunday, 18 January. He is not expected to survive.
The Cole Classic Ocean Swim, however, has announced that its multiple-kilometre swim, starting at Manly Beach will go ahead, but delayed from 1 February to 22 February.
“In light of the recent shark incidents across Sydney’s beaches, the Cole Classic team extends our thoughts and support to the individuals, families and first responders affected,” Cole Classic Race Director John Thomson said in a statement.
“For this year’s event, we have further strengthened our resources, including the addition of two extra Surf Life Saving NSW drones. This doubles our drone capability and enhances our marine search and rescue, incident response, wildlife surveillance and beach assessment capacity.”
The event will have 70 Bronze Medallion paddlers, three on-site paramedics with two first aid tents, ten inflatable rescue boats and four jet skis operated by Northern Beaches Council lifeguards.
For beachgoers, it looks like it will be business as usual from Friday if lifeguards deem the beaches safe to open. If so, additional lifeguard and lifesaver as well jet ski patrols will be implements. More aerial surveillance and extra drum lines will also be used.
The cancelled and revised events follow four shark attacks in NSW within 48 hours. The first in Vaucluse, leaving a young boy in hospital with “the worst outcome possible,” a family friend stated.
Just a day after, a young musician was mauled on his leg at North Steyne while surfing, leading to an amputation of his leg. Earlier that morning at Dee Why Point, an 11-year-old narrowly escaped injury when a bull shark bit a large chunk from his surfboard.
The next day, a 39-year-old surfer at a NSW Beach, Point Plomer, had his board bitten by a suspected bull shark, leading to slight grazing and lacerations on his leg.
Emotional support available
In response to these attacks, Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli, have organised a support service outside of North Steyne.
The Community Critical Incident Response Protocol (CCIR) hosts crisis supporters and counsellors for people who were impacted by these events, providing emotional support and wellbeing checks.
Northern Beaches Lifeline CEO and Manly Ward Councillor Sarah Grattan told Manly Observer the CCIR protocol is to “prevent future PTSD and other injuries.”
“We have had a number of people concerned, anxious about their children getting back in the water, but also feeling anxious themselves about getting back in the water,” Councillor Grattan said.
“Members of the Bold and the Beautiful, for example, and other people who use swimming and the ocean as part of their everyday self-care and mental health, don’t have that available to them at the moment because the beaches are closed, it’s not safe to get in there. So, there’s a lot of concern, acknowledgement, and fear about getting back in the water. We’re down here and available to talk.”
The services will be available today through Saturday from 10 am – 4 pm, as well as this Sunday and next from 10 am – 2 pm. This attack marks the third time in four months the ‘one-off crisis’ response protocol has been activated, initially after the shark attack that took local surfer Mercury Psillakis’ life last September in Dee Why and again following the Bondi shooting in December.
CCIR has been stood up without a funding source, if you’d like to contribute, you can do so here.
For now, it seems all beaches on the Northern Beaches will be closed indefinitely as Council says water conditions are continuously under review on an ongoing basis.
