Authorities from the Victoria Fisheries Authority (VFA) and Life Saving Victoria were unable to confirm the exact identity of the creature in the photograph. However, experts in marine life offered more plausible explanations. Professor Charlie Huveneers, Research Leader of the Southern Shark Ecology Group, stated that the shape most likely did not belong to a shark. According to him, the photo’s quality made it difficult to be certain, but the form appeared more consistent with the wing of a Southern Eagle Ray rather than a shark’s dorsal fin. Southern Eagle Rays, considered near-threatened, are native to southern Australian waters and are occasionally spotted in shallow coastal areas near beaches, as well as around New Zealand.