Attack victim backs group vowing to protect sharks

A LIFEGUARD who still remembers a great white shark’s teeth cut into his thigh is among the legion of surfers insisting the animals should not be culled.

Pictured is surfer Hannah Chadwick at Freshwater Beach today. Picture: Tim Hunter.

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IT WAS eight years ago when Avalon surfer Andrew Lindop felt a shark grab his leg while out catching waves with his dad.

Now 23, the Pittwater lifeguard remembers the great white’s teeth piercing his wetsuit and cutting deep into his thigh. “But then it just let me go,” he said.

Within three months, he was back on his board surfing in the same spot, and today is among the legion of surfers standing up for the rights of sharks, insisting they shouldn’t be killed.

It’s this view that has led to the formation of the Fin For A Fin campaign, a movement in which surfers attach a fin to their boards ­indicating their unwillingness to support a “kill order” — even when they are the victim.

There were 26 such instances in 2016, two of which were fatal. This year there have been four attacks, resulting in one fatality.

One of the co-founders, Alex Metson, 30, said many surfers felt at odds with governments involved in shark culling, including kill orders issued in the event of an attack.

The fin for a fin indicates support for sharks. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“When there is a shark attack, there is such hysteria that follows,” Metson said.

“It doesn’t sit well with many surfers who have a deep love of the ocean and understand that they are entering shark habitat.

“It’s our way of saying we don’t want that shark killed.”

Metson said he hoped to eventually establish a database on which surfers who purchased a fin were listed to enable family and friends to be aware of their no-kill stance.