The sightings of dozens of sharks at popular spots along Victoria’s surf coast has seen swimmers ordered out of the water at Fairhaven beach along the Great Ocean Road.

Alarms were rung about 11am and the beach was officially closed by Surf Lifesaving Victoria (SLV) after a rescue helicopter caught sight of the predators on Monday morning.

Twenty sharks ranging from 1.5m to 3.5m in length were seen off the coast at Fairhaven on Christmas Day.

Twelve were also spotted at Anglesea, one of the most popular family spots over the summer holidays.

Fisheries Victoria said there would be extra helicopter patrols of the area.

Paul Shannon from SLV said beaches along the surf coast were safe for swimmers if they obeyed warnings and stayed between the flags.

He said sharks were not uncommon along the surf coast but they did not usually cause problems for beachgoers

“Over the course of the summer there would usually be one beach closure,” Mr Shannon said.

“The fact the we’ve had two in two days probably means conditions for fish are rife and sharks are staying in vicinity.”