At around 10:45am a 2.4m white shark was spotted approximately 30 metres offshore at the northern end of Main Beach by a Department of Primary Industries (DPI) aerial surveillance helicopter.

In response, the two professional lifeguards on duty sounded the shark alarm and closed the beach.

MidCoast lifeguard supervisor Warren Keegan said it was a busy day at the popular tourist destination, with around 150-200 people on the beach.

Following 30 minutes of observation with no further sightings, the lifeguards reopened the beach.

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Mr Keegan admitted there had been a number of juvenile white shark sightings in the area of late, but believed there was no reason to be alarmed.

He advised swimmers to stay between the flags as it was the safest part of the beach and they would be supervised by trained lifeguards.

According to the NSW SharkSmart twitter account, numerous sharks have been detected in the waters off the Great Lakes in the past few days, with tagged white sharks being picked up by the shark listening station at Forster Main Beach and a number of white sharks and whaler sharks being spotted by DPI aerial surveillance helicopters between Tuncurry and Hawks Nest.

Mr Keegan said apart from shark sightings, the October holiday period had provided fairly safe conditions along the Mid North Coast so far, with a low swell running at most beaches.

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