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Winter is Kiama-ing!
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Where to raise your spirits as the temp drops FREE WEEKLY COMMUNITY PAPER
12 June - 18 June 2026 Kiama Minnamurra Kiama Downs Jamberoo Gerringong Gerroa
“This can save a life”
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How to stay shark smart Maria Lewis With whale migration in full swing, experts and local boardriders clubs are reminding people to stay shark smart through the winter months. As one of the world’s leading shark experts, Doctor Daryl McPhee
of Bond University said it was “important” for those still taking on the chilly waters to understand the “heightened risk” and what to look out for. “This time of year south of Sydney and on the southern New South Wales coast you start to see the whales moving north and following t h o s e whales
are white sharks,” he told The Bugle. “In terms of what people can do, namely surfers and swimmers, you need to avoid being near aggregations of food – particularly schooling fish, schools of pilchard, other baitfish, Australian salmon. “Avoid anywhere with lots of bird activity as well, as that bird activity is often associated with fish activity which is then
associated with shark activity.” That activity is something the Werri Beach Boardriders Club have been keeping a close eye on, with three of their scheduled events in the past 12 months cancelled due to shark sightings. “We now have the technology we need to have a look, all the boardriders clubs have drones, and our drone pilot Adam puts it up
and assesses the situation throughout the day,” said WBBC Secretary Jess McGarn. “If he spots something, we have policy with Surfing NSW where we postpone for half an hour and reassess.” While McGarn says “everyone is pretty relaxed about it”, the boardriders club has gone a step further by installing Shark Bite Kits along Werri Beach and one in Gerroa
too as an added precaution. “A shark attack victim and his mate started making them in their backyard, putting them up themselves, and it has grown from there,” she said of the kits, which she and her husband first spotted in Port McQuarie on their travels. “I just reached out to them as a boardriders club to see if we could purchase some and they said yes.” Continued on Page 3
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“Empty Pickleball, shops and tobacconists” a smash hit Sloane calls out on South small biz issues Coast
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