Swimmer has been killed by shark in Bay - 94 years ago

UPDATE: Contrary to popular belief, a swimmer has been killed by a shark in Hervey Bay - it happened 92 years ago.

The headline of the story in the Maryborough Chronicle, about the teen killed by a shark, published on December 6, 1922. Picture: Maryborough Chronicle

UPDATE: Contrary to popular belief, a swimmer has been killed by a shark in Hervey Bay - it happened 94 years ago.

Cordalba teenager Alf Gassman's right side, from armpit to thigh, was torn away by a shark while he was swimming between Scarness and Torquay on December 5, 1922.

The 19-year-old was with a mate in about 4ft (1.2m) of water when the shark, estimated to be 9-10ft (2.7-3m), attacked.

According to a report in the Maryborough Chonicle, Mr Gassman's friend helped him to shore but he died about 15 minutes later.

The story said the shark had been seen around the Bay for four to five weeks before the attack.

This information corrects an earlier report that no one had been attacked by a shark in Hervey Bay waters.

EARLIER: Although there has been an increase in sharks spotted around the region, Hervey Bay's waters remain free of attacks on humans.

Fishermen and local experts say no attack has been reported in the Bay in the past century, but the sight of a big shadow in the water on Tuesday morning was enough to spark the conversation again.

A woman paddle boarding at Scarness said she saw a 3.7m shark swim past her.

Fisherman Geoff Melksham, who has spent more than 30 years fishing in the region's waters, told the Chronicle the amount of bait fish on the western side of Fraser Island meant sharks were well fed.

But on the eastern side, he said, sharks were circling in their hundreds.

Mr Melksham regularly spots sharks in the Great Sandy Strait.

He said they had been there for hundreds of years and would always be there.

Vic Hislop, a who has a long history as a shark hunter and runs the Shark Show at Urangan, is in favour of culling the sharks.

He said he had heard before about the large shark seen on Tuesday.

"I've been getting reports for the last two weeks about it preying in real close at high tide," he said.

"They should be moved or taken out of the water."

Mr Melksham, who spends a lot of time on his boat, said stories of a mammoth tiger shark stalking boaties in the Urangan marina was a myth.