Man rushed to Perth hospital

The spokesman said Blackwall Reach was a narrow section of the river where there was high amount of boat traffic.

“Drumlines would pose a dangerous public safety risk,” he said.

The shark responsible for the incident is believed to be 2-3 metre bull shark.

“Bull sharks are attracted to freshwater rivers and estuaries to breed and based on scientific advice a relocation would not improve shark hazard risks,” the spokesman said.

Mr Wrathall was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after he was bitten about 8am. He was taken into theatre at 9.30am. Doctors at the time said they did not believe his injuries were life-threatening.

He is now out of surgery and in the intensive care unit in a critical but stable condition.

A nearby resident told WAtoday he heard screams coming from Blackwall Reach, in the southern riverfront suburb of Bicton, just before 8am.

He said kayakers paddled out to help Mr Wrathall, bringing him to shore with the help of a stand-up paddleboarder.

Bicton resident David Davenport was out on his deck overlooking the Swan River when he saw two swimmers splashing around near a boat.

“I thought, ‘Someone’s jumped off the back’, and then after a while the splashing stopped and they started swimming to shore and I could see the trail of blood coming out of the one guy,” he said.

“I called my son and told him to come down here and I phoned the ambulance as they were swimming to shore.”

Mr Davenport said seven or eight people carried Mr Wrathall, who is known among friends as a regular morning swimmer in the river.

Mr Davenport said he was astounded by the amount of blood which had come out of the swimmer but when he got down to the bank the rescuers had stemmed the bleeding.

“I was told they took his shirt off and used it as a tourniquet,” he said.

Mr Davenport said he had time to think about whether his view on swimming in the river had changed.

“It’s a risk you take every time, when was the last bull shark here? It was decades ago,” he said.

Another witness said it looked like there was a lot of blood and a “good chunk” gone from the man’s upper thigh.

Premier Mark McGowan described the incident as “very surprising”.

“It’s nothing anyone expected would occur because [a shark attack in the Swan River] hasn’t happened in 50 years,” he said.

“Some kayakers I understand rescued the man and I’d like to thank them for that.

“We all hope and wish for the very best for the man involved and hope he recovers fully.”

The only recorded fatal bull shark attack in the Swan River happened in 1923, when a 13-year-old boy was bitten on the thigh while swimming near Mosman Park.

Blackwall Reach is the name of the limestone cliffs connecting Bicton’s ‘millionaire’s row’ – Blackwall Reach Parade – with Point Walter Reserve, about 10 kilometres from where the Swan River meets the ocean in Fremantle.

It encompasses the iconic Bicton Baths and Kent Street Jetty, and is an area popular with swimmers, kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders.

The area is also popular for cliff jumping.