Lake Illawarra's great white isn't going anywhere in a hurry, with pristine waters providing a plentiful food source for a growing shark, according to a leading marine expert.Marine biologist Dr Julian Pepperell described the juvenile's length of stay within estuary waters as "uncharacteristic".Normally, a shark would travel long distances in a short period of time. "I haven't heard of it all that often," Dr Pepperell said.
VIDEO: Lake Illawarra great white shark VOTE IN POLL: Should the Lake Illawarra great white shark be removed?"Intuitively, I can say pelagic or oceanic sharks do avoid water they don't like. "If it has gone in there and stayed, that would suggest the water quality is very high."Several Lake Illawarra sightings have been made since the juvenile was first spotted on Thursday - including photos fisherman Brad Ryan sent the Mercury.All recent sightings suggest the shark is bigger than first thought, indicating a length of 2m.Thirteen-year-old Liam Gatrick got more than he bargained for last week, when he captured video footage of the inquisitive shark circling his family's boat."We were fishing at the lake and saw the shark. It was just cruising and it didn't realise we were there until it came up and had a look," Liam said.The Mercury yesterday joined Dr Pepperell's research assistant, Greg Barea, on a tour of Lake Illawarra. "They're opportunistic feeders. If they know where the food source is, they'll wait around until it's completely finished," Mr Barea said.He said he had found Windang Beach to be "a nursery" for juvenile sharks while researching tiger sharks."Windang is known as a great white drop-off area for sharks. Because there's so much food in the bay, the pups are dropped off in an area which is very active," he said. "The mother would have dropped the juvenile shark off at Windang Beach. "It probably hung around the beach for a few weeks and then followed a school of mullet or something into the lake."A lake brimming with fish indicated the shark could stay longer, Mr Barea said. "March and early April is the perfect time of year for sharks ... A lot of food is pushed down the east coast," he said.Bendigo Bank Aerial Patrol has called for electronic monitoring of the shark. "While the shark is seen as a novelty for now, it will hopefully grow into a large adult, possibly 5m in length," patrol general manager Harry Mitchell said.Tell us what you would name the Lake Illawarra great white shark.
