(Images Via Goldcoast Bulletin)

If anything’s going to keep crowds down at Snapper Rocks, it’s this. On Tuesday, panicked surfers fled the water at one of Australia’s most famous waves as a two metre shark cruised Coolangatta’s waters.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reported that swimmers and surfers were unaware of the threat before the beach’s shark alarm sounded just after 1pm on Tuesday, making Snapper Rocks usual over-crowded state a deserted lineup.

We love the Bulletin’s story for the laconic quotes from shark expert Jonathan Werry, who explained that the shark likely came from the whaler family and was possibly a dusky or a bull shark.

Saying there was “nothing sinister” about the shark’s presence on Tuesday, Werry warned swimmers and surfers from approaching sharks.

Understatement of the year goes to his comment that “at this time of year the water is very clear, so people should just steer clear of them and let them do their thing.”