Scuba diver dies in Fraser Island shark attack
A shark expert says the area off Fraser Island where a scuba diver was fatally mauled was a known danger zone for the man-eaters. Picture: 7 News
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FISHERMEN watched in horror as a scuba diver was mauled to death off Fraser Island on Saturday afternoon.
The Sunshine Coast man, 36, was spear fishing off Indian Head on the island’s remote northeast about 2pm when he was attacked by a suspected great white.
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He was pulled from the water unconscious with his left leg severely mauled.
Bystanders, including an off-duty doctor and nurse, worked frantically to revive him and were joined by paramedics who were winched down by the RACQ LifeFlight helicopter.
They performed CPR on the man for more than an hour but his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The LifeFlight helicopter flew the man’s body to Hervey Bay.
Emergency services sources said the tragedy was witnessed by fishermen who were on the rocks at Indian Head when the attack happened.
Leading shark expert Daryl McPhee, an associate professor at Bond University, said the fatal attack was a tragedy but no surprise.
“Fraser Island, and particularly the Indian Head region, is known as a key spawning location for migratory fish such as tailor… sharks follow and attack those schools of fish,” Dr McPhee said.
“It’s no surprise that there’s an unprovoked shark bite there; it’s perhaps more surprising that people are actually diving there.”
Dr McPhee said the Fraser Island waters were home to a large diversity of shark species; he hoped the attack would reinforce the danger of swimming in those waters.
“It’s a tragedy as these things always are, but my first thought was that this was undertaking an activity where that activity should not have been undertaken,” he said.
It’s the second fatal shark attack in the region in a month, after Gold Coast man Rob Pedretti was mauled to death by a 3m great white while surfing at Kingscliff on the Tweed Coast on June 7.
Two men who were surfing with Mr Pedretti had to fight off the aggressive shark to get him to the beach, but he also died at the scene.
NSW Fisheries officials tried to hunt down the rogue shark but it escaped.
The Queensland Government is considering removing shark nets and replacing them with drumlines during the annual whale migration, after a spate of whale strandings on the Gold Coast.
Fraser Island, however, is not protected by nets or drumlines which stretch from the Gold Coast to Cairns.
Recent attacks in and around Qld
July 29, 2019 – A 21 year-old woman, who was a member of a crayfishing boat, is bitten on the leg by a shark when she was snorkelling around the boat near Magra Islet, off Cape Grenville in Far North Queensland.
October 17, 2019 – Riley Brown was surfing off Bribie Island when a shark bit a chunk out of his surfboard. The 17-year-old was uninjured.
October 29, 2019 – Two English tourists are attacked by a shark near Hook Island in the Whitsundays. The shark bit off the foot of 28 year-old Alistair Raddon, while 22 year-old Danny Maggs suffered lacerations to his right calf as a result of the attack.
December 30, 2019 – A man in his 30s is bitten on his right hand and left leg in shallow waters off North West Island, off the coast of Gladstone.
January 8, 2020 – A nine-year-old girl is bitten on the leg by a lemon shark near North West Island. She received a bite wound to her lower leg and puncture wounds to her foot.
April 6, 2020 – 23 year-old Parks and Wildlife ranger Zachary Robba is killed in a shark attack off North West Island in the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
June 7, 2020 – Rob Pedretti is killed by a great white shark at Salt Beach near Kingscliff in northern New South Wales.
Originally published as Scuba diver dies in Fraser Island shark attack