Liam Croy, Grace Millimaci and Dan Mercer The West Australian February 2, 2014, 10:50 am

Leighton and Port beaches were closed this morning and Fisheries Department officers set more drum lines after a 4m shark was spotted a few hundred metres off Leighton beach.

Surf Life Saving WA reported that a 4m shark was swimming south about 100m off North Leighton about 8.30am, as hoards of people began arriving for surf club.

The alert prompted the fisheries vessel, which had been returning from Mullaloo after inspecting Perth drum-lines, to rush south.

Swimmers and surfers were still in the water despite the warning.

After arriving at Leighton, officers set extra drum-lines at the southern corner of the beach in a bid to catch the shark, the species of which is unknown.

The beaches were later re-opened after no further sightings of the shark.

All 10 drum lines were checked earlier this morning but all were clear.

On Friday the lines were deployed for the first time off the metropolitan coast under the Barnett Government's shark catch-and-kill policy.

Fisheries officers at work early this morning. Picture: Iain Gillespie/The West Australian

Original post:

Shark alert closes beach