A shark, believed to be a one-metre dusky whaler, was spotted inside the nets at Manly Cove last night.
Dusky whalers are potentially dangerous to people but aren’t typically aggressive unless provoked.
Few attacks by the species have been recorded.
Shark sighting signs had been erected around the beach earlier today and council closed the beach.
Contractors worked to coax out of the swimming area and it swam away before 9am.
How exactly the shark managed to make its way inside the nets is yet to be determined but it’s thought it could have simply been high tide that helped it over.
The beach has since reopened to swimmers but it might take some time for some to feel comfortable jumping back in.
Swimmers told 9News they were unaware there had been a shark in the water.
“I come here because it has the net and I feel safe,” one beachgoer said.
“But it’s really dangerous if there was a shark here.”
“It’s a little worrying, we have a little boy so we won’t be going in the water,” Natalie King said.
Other swimmers said they felt shocked and worried that the creature had been there as the shark sighting signs had been taken down.
It is the second shark sighting in the Manly area in two weeks.
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