Dale Heathwood, Jarryd Parkinson catch sharks off Fraser Island

It’s a known shark playground but fishermen are increasingly reeling in a large number of monster sharks while casting their line from the beaches off Fraser Island. See the photos and video.

Fishermen in the adventure playground of Fraser Island are noticing the increased presence of sharks close to the shoreline with one group catching 10 over their last few trips.

Dale Heathwood was fishing with a group of family and friends on September 17 at the Sandy Cape, when he caught a large shark (pictured below) using freshwater eel as bait.

The 3m female tiger shark took over three hours to land on the shore, with the fisherman taking turns to reel it in.

“We all couldn’t believe how big it was, we were only hoping to catch something around the 1.5 metre mark,” Mr Heathwood said.

The 3m tiger shark caught by Mr Heathwood and his family.

“They are absolutely lovely animals and it was an even bigger thrill to see her swim away after a few pics.”

Another fisherman who frequents the beaches of Fraser Island is Jarryd Parkinson.

He and his friends were fishing for Spanish mackerel and giant trevally just north of the Maheno shipwreck, when they reeled in a 1.6m Australian blacktip shark.

“Over the last few years we have been getting more and more off the beaches at Fraser Island, we are always excited when we land sharks,” Mr Parkinson told The Fraser Coast Chronicle.

“We have caught about 10 sharks over the last couple of trips to Fraser.”

The 1.6m Australian blacktip shark caught by Mr Parkinson and his friends.

With the amount of sharks being caught as bycatch, Mr Parkinson said he would “most definitely” be refraining from swimming in the dangerous waters off Fraser Island.

Mr Heathwood agreed “Fraser Island isn’t the ideal place to be swimming apart from the lakes.”

Last year, Sunshine Coast father Matthew Tratt tragically was fatally mauled while spearfishing with his brother off Indian Head.

Mr Parkinson has reeled in an increasing number of sharks while fishing on the shores of Fraser Island.

Despite the efforts of Queensland Ambulance paramedics flown in to the remote location by a RACQ Lifeflight Helicopter, Mr Tratt succumbed to severe leg injuries at the scene.

The Department of Environmental Science put out an official warning for swimming on the beaches of Fraser Island, advising people to “not swim in the ocean” due to rips and sharks.

“People have suffered serious injuries in water-related accidents … there are no patrolled swimming areas on Fraser Island,” the warning states.