Source: Maureen O'Hara on Facebook
On Sunday (1 Sept), beachgoers at Palawan Beach in Sentosa saw an unlikely visitor wading the shallow waters with them. A shark was spotted as it swam across the beach sometime around 3.15pm.
One beachgoer, Ms Maureen O’Hara, told MS News that she had initially noticed something swimming in the waters of Palawan Beach’s lagoon.
Upon closer look, the 46-year-old was surprised to see it was a blacktip reef shark, which she said circled the area four or five times.
Ms O’Hara immediately told her four-year-old daughter Ryleigh, who was swimming in the area, to get out of the water.
She then grabbed her phone and recorded the shark up close, estimating it to be about 1.5 metres long.
Source: Maureen O’Hara on Facebook
In the video, the shark could be seen cruising in the shallow waters right next to shore. It had a noticeable black mark on the tip of its dorsal fin.
It passed by without incident. Ms O’Hara could be heard another beachgoer not to splash water at the shark.
Source: Maureen O’Hara on Facebook
She subsequently followed close beside it as it swam onwards. Shortly after, it turned towards them for a brief moment.
“[It’s] coming, coming, coming!” she warned.
Someone else flung an object at it, creating a big splash in the water.
Source: Maureen O’Hara on Facebook
The shark then changed directions and continued swimming away from the beachgoers as the video ended.
Ms O’Hara alleged that someone else had spotted a second, smaller shark in the area previously.
She said that some people present had been frightened but many, including herself and Ryleigh, were excited to “witness such a rare occurrence”.
“This was the first time I had seen a shark in Singaporean waters,” she said. She also suspected that the lagoon’s netting may have been opened temporarily, resulting in the shark slipping onto the beach.
One swimmer had allegedly attempted to unsuccessfully catch the shark.
“I reminded people not to disturb the shark,” she added.
While a little afraid when the blacktip reef shark turned towards her, she said she ultimately knew that it was “probably curious”.
Speaking to MS News, a spokesperson from the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said that the Beach Patrol Officers and Sentosa Rangers immediately evacuated guests from the water.
They also halted water activities for Palawan Beach as a precaution.
After drone inspections confirmed that the sharks were gone, SDC then lifted the temporary restrictions.
Source: Sentosa
“The safety of our guests is of paramount importance to us, and regular protocols are undertaken by our Beach Patrol Officers to monitor the safety of our waters,” the spokesperson said.
In the event of any emergency, they urged the public to contact the Sentosa Rangers at 1800-RANGERS (7264377).
According to SG101, blacktip reef sharks are native to Singapore’s coastal waters and pose little threat to humans.
They’re also known to be timid and easily scared off by swimmers. However, frequent human contact has resulted in several non-fatal bites.
It is in fact humans who pose a bigger threat against them. In 2022, divers found eight blacktip reef sharks dead off Pulau Hantu off Singapore’s southern coast.
The divers suspected that they had been caught in a net and stabbed to death by fishermen.
In 2023, The Straits Times reported that 14 blacktip reef sharks had been found dead, tangled in fishing nets.
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Featured image adapted from Maureen O’Hara on Facebook.
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