Swimmer punches shark in head to escape Port Stephens attack
PAUL Kenny, 50, accidentally headbutted a shark while bodysurfing at a Port Stephens beach today. The next thing he knew, the shark latched on to his arm and the only way he could free himself from its grasp, was to fight it off with his fists.
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AN early morning bodysurf turned into a traumatic ordeal for a man who fought off a shark with his fists.
Paul Kenny, 50, was nearing the end of a caravan trip and went for a dip this morning at Samurai Beach at Port Stephens, north of Newcastle.
He said he was catching a final wave in when he headbutted a shark.
“As soon as I did that he latched onto my arm and all I could do was punch it until it let go,” he told The Sunday Telegraph from his hospital bed.
“When I let go of it I saw its dorsal fin one metre away. I walked backwards as quick as I could and caught whatever wave I could in.”
Mr Kenny, a member of the Terrigal Surf Life Saving Club, hobbled up the beach clutching the bleeding shark bite on his upper right arm.
He said he channelled pro surfer Mick Fanning, who famously fought off a shark in South Africa in 2015, when he started punching the shark in the head.
“It’s the Australian thing to do now isn’t it?” Mr Kenny laughed.
Garry Sharp was on the beach checking the surf and saw the attack unfold.
“I went down to check the surf and bumped into a mate who said there was a shark out there,” he said.
“A few minutes later the shark went towards the bloke swimming and the next minute he is fighting it then it let him go.”
Mr Sharp and another man put towels on Mr Kenny’s wound while another bystander rushed to grab bandages from Mr Kenny’s caravan nearby.
He also alerted his wife, Jennie.
“It didn’t seem real,” Mrs Kenny said.
An ambulance took Mr Kenny to John Hunter Hospital, where he received 17 stitches.
Department of Primary Industries shark biologists said the shark was a Wobbegong but Mr Kenny, who had encountered sharks diving and while on patrol with his surf club, didn’t agree.
Regardless the encounter won’t stop him from getting back in the water.
“It’s not going to stop me,” he said.
“The shark was just reacting to me hitting it on the head.”
Port Stephens Council was forced to close parts of Samurai Beach and the neighbouring One Mile Beach this week after a decomposing whale carcass washed up on the shore.
The 10-metre carcass sparked concerns about increased shark activity.
It was removed from One Mile beach on Thursday and the beaches were reopened on Friday.
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