Authorities have cleared swimmers from the water at Kiama's Surf Beach and Kendalls Beach after a 2.5-metre bull shark was spotted about 100 metres off shore.
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Surf lifesaving volunteers spotted the creature while manning a drone over the coastline about 1.45pm Monday.
The information was relayed to patrolling surf lifeguards, who used a loudspeaker and whistles to clear the water of about 20 swimmers.
Craig Bowley, Kiama's casual lifeguard supervisor, said the shark's close proximity and its species - bull sharks are known to be aggressive - prompted the hasty warning.
"The beach is closed until further notice," he said, about 2.25pm.
"The drone still has it in its sights. The shark is now in the middle of the beach, maybe 150m off [shore]. The closure will continue until it moves away or they lose track of it - usually about two hours."
Mr Bowley said the shark’s feeding habits likely brought it so close to shore.
“When I looked at the [drone] screen it was in the middle of a bait ball, so was obviously feeding on the fish,” he said.
Surf lifesaving volunteers trained in drone operations have been positioned near the beach's southern end throughout the summer break, as part of a new shark-spotting program.
The program replaces a shark-spotting blimp that was seen over area beaches last summer.
The surveillance would continue every day throughout the school holidays, said Kiama club captain John Ford.
The Mercury understands this is the first sighting to come from the Kiama drone so far this season.
Surf Life Saving NSW began a drone surveillance program at nine of the state’s beaches in 2017. This year it spread to Kiama, Mollymook, Pambula and Tathra.
Surf Life Saving NSW is in the process of rolling out the program to more beaches, including in the Illawarra (north of Windang).
A two-metre white shark was also spotted at Bherwerre on the South Coast about noon.