The NSW government has been accused of misleading the public on shark numbers as outrage continues to build over bureaucratic inaction in the face of increased attacks.
The criticism comes after Premier Chris Minns acknowledged there had been a “slight” rise in shark prevalence compared to previous decades.
The message has since fuelled concerns about whether the government has an accurate picture of what is happening off the state’s coastline.
Veteran spearfisherman Ryan Baker has joined a growing chorus of commercial fishermen challenging official claims about shark populations following last weekend’s attack at Coogee Beach.
Mr Baker said the gap between government messaging and firsthand experience was becoming impossible to ignore.
Asked whether the government was being transparent with the public, he was blunt.
“They’re simply not telling the public the truth at all,” he told SkyNews.com.au.
When questioned about claims there were not more sharks in NSW waters, Mr Baker dismissed the government’s position.
“That data’s bulls***. Flat out bulls***,” he said.
“They lie and mislead, that’s the government.
“Their studies have been proven to be false and misleading numerous times.”
Pointing to nurse sharks as an example, Mr Baker said that data from September 2025, shows their numbers are rising.
It is now estimated that there are around 1,500 along the east coast.
“The data is outdated, these are not endangered species … it’s the same with great whites,” he said.
While Mr Baker said the increase is obvious, he adds that the government is reluctant to acknowledge the scale of the problem.
“I suppose they don’t want to scare people from entering the water and don’t want to scare tourists away from Australia,” he said.
On Thursday, the NSW’s government’s SharkSmart program released data acknowledging that white sharks are more common along the NSW coastline between May and November.
The program said significant numbers of juvenile white sharks aged between one-and four-years travel north along the NSW coast during late autumn and early winter.
It comes less than a week after a 34-year-old mother was attacked at Coogee Beach leaving her with life-threatening injuries.
The attack has renewed scrutiny of the state’s $30 million Shark Mitigation Program and prompted calls for major policy changes.
Commercial diver Ian Puckeridge told Sky News earlier this week that shark management should rely more heavily on the experience of fishermen rather than scientists.
“A lot of these (programs) are set up by boffins … we’ve got very clever fishery scientists, but they’re not fishermen,” he said.
Mr Baker shared similar concerns and questioned whether taxpayer money was being spent effectively.
He pointed to a Department of Primary Industries bull shark tagging program as an example.
“They tagged four sharks in a whole year and got millions of dollars to tag four sharks, that’s insanity,” he said.
“I know that any shark fisherman can go out and catch four within two weeks.
“So, it begs the question, where is all this money going, because it looks like they’re just completely wasting the money and not doing the proper research.”
Mr Baker argued the government’s response to the growing number of encounters had largely consisted of promises rather than practical measures.
“The government seems to be all talk and no action,” he said.
“They don’t seem to propose anything that’s realistic in helping the public and giving public peace of mind and protection.”
While he stopped short of backing a shark cull, Mr Baker urged authorities to properly test shark deterrent products in Australian conditions rather than relying on overseas research.
“They need to actually be allowed to study these shark deterrent products, electronic, and only ones that are effective,” Mr Baker said.
“They need to study it in Australian waters on Australian sharks, not overseas.”
He said the issue was already affecting businesses and participation in water sports.
“It’s definitely affecting my business and surfing and the whole industry of any water sports space.”
It comes as the brother of surfer Mercury Psillakis, who was killed in a shark attack last year, says NSW should consider stronger intervention measures to reduce the risk of attacks.
Mike Psillakis told the Sydney Morning Herald that the government needed to look to the French territory of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa for inspiration.
Reunion Island recorded 30 shark attacks between 2011 and 2019, including 11 fatalities.
Authorities responded with a series of interventions, including the use of SMART drumlines to catch adult bull and tiger sharks, which are then euthanised rather than released.
Since 2019, no shark attacks have been recorded in waters around the island.
“They didn’t wait for data on shark populations to take that next step of lethal drumlines,” Mr Psillakis told the masthead.
“The last attack was ‘enough is enough’.”
According to Science, Reunion’s SMART drumline program caught and killed 68 bull sharks and 543 tiger sharks between 2018 and 2025.