Mercury Psillakis: Dee Why shark attack victim’s friends recall final moments of bravery, ‘very large’ shark

A father’s final moments were marked by bravery at Sydney’s Dee Why beach when a massive shark attacked him as he tried to protect his surfing companions.

Mercury Psillakis, 57, spotted the five-metre shark about 100 metres off the shore and was urging his friends to stay close together for safety just before the predator suddenly breached and struck him, according to eyewitnesses who spoke to the Daily Telegraph.

“He was at the back of the pack still trying to get everyone together when the shark just lined him up,” friend and former pro-surfer Toby Martin said.

“It came straight from behind and breached and dropped straight on him. It’s the worst-case scenario.

“They normally come from the side but this one came straight from behind, breached and dropped on him. It was so quick.”

Mr Psillakis disappeared beneath the waves, with part of his torso resurfacing nearer the shore.

“A couple of the guys had to get the remaining parts of his torso into shore which was pretty traumatic,” Mr Martin said.

Surfers pulled his remains out of the water, comforting his family on the sand as grief took hold.

One witness, Mark Morgenthal, told Sky News the shark was “huge,” estimating it at about six metres long. He also recalled hearing a man yelling as the shark was spotted in the water.

“There was a guy screaming, ‘I don’t want to get bitten, I don’t want to get bitten, don’t bite me,’ and I saw the dorsal fin of the shark come up, and it was huge,” Mr Morgenthal said.

“Then I saw the tail fin come up and start kicking, and the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin looked to be about four metres, so it actually looked like a six-metre shark.”

Mercury’s twin brother Mike, who was at Long Reef beach watching a junior surf competition, rushed to the scene as the tragic news unfolded.

Both brothers were lifelong locals and avid surfers, with Mike hand-shaping surfboards and sharing memories of him and his brother surfing on social media.

Police and lifeguards swiftly cleared the beaches between Dee Why and Long Reef on Saturday morning.

Local witness Sophie Lumsden recalled the shock: “I was sitting at the beach having a coffee and the shark alarm went off. Four ambulances arrived minutes later. It doesn’t look like they were able to save him.”

Superintendent John Duncan praised those who helped recover Mercury Psillakis but confirmed the injuries were catastrophic.

Shark experts, including legendary diver Valerie Taylor, believe a “very large” great white was responsible for the attack. Police sources reportedly said it was 5 metres long.

“Bull sharks jerk and shake and take out a chunk but a great white will come and take one big bite,” Ms Taylor told the Daily Telegraph.

“To take a bite like this would mean it was a very large great white.”

Associate Professor Daryl McPhee of Bond University said great whites are more common off Sydney in spring as whales migrate, but stressed the risk remains very low.

Pieces of a surfboard were taken for examination as government shark biologists work to identify the species of shark involved.

It was a perfect spring day turned tragic just before Father’s Day, as the Northern Beaches community mourned a beloved husband, father, and passionate surfer.

NSW Premier Chris Minns described the death as an “awful tragedy,” noting the rarity but deep impact of shark attacks on the close-knit surfing community.

“Shark attacks are rare, but they leave a huge mark on everyone involved, particularly the close-knit surfing community,” Mr Minns said.

Beaches from Manly to Narrabeen were closed following the man’s death, with nearby Dee Why Beach expected to remain closed all weekend.

The NSW government spends more than $21 million on its annual shark management program, with nets installed at 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong from the start of September.

Three councils, including the Northern Beaches Council, have each been asked to nominate a beach where nets can be removed.

“We asked them to nominate a beach and they didn’t but we will continue to work with those councils about what the program will look like,” Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty told a budget estimates hearing as nets were being installed at beaches on Monday.

The impact of nets on other wildlife has prompted a re-think about their use.

Nets were removed a month earlier than usual at the end of March to address concerns about increased turtle activity from April.

The state’s shark management plan also includes the use of drones to patrol beaches and drumlines to provide real-time alerts about sharks near the shore.

Long Reef Beach uses drumlines and does not have a shark net but nearby Dee Why Beach does.

Before Saturday’s attack, the last shark-related fatality in Sydney occurred in February 2022, when British diving instructor Simon Nellist was taken by a great white off Little Bay in the city’s east.