Port Fairy man fends off great white shark with broom

A VICTORIAN man had the fright of his life as he fended off a great white shark with a broom. And the whole encounter was caught on camera.

A VICTORIAN man had the fright of his life after fending off a great white shark with a garden broom.

Port Fairy angler Dan Hoey was fishing for gummy sharks at Port Fairy on Thursday with his brother and a client when he noticed a great white begin circling their boat.

“This big beast turned up and wouldn’t leave us alone,” Mr Hoey said.

“The shark nearly took a chunk out of my Yamaha motors, leaving a few small dents and scratches.”

Mr Hoey fights off the great white shark with a garden broom. Picture: Salty Dog Charters

The shark was circling the boat for more than 20 minutes. Picture: Salty Dog Charters

Picture: Salty Dog Charters

Dan Hoey with the infamous garden broom. Picture: Salty Dog Charters

Mr Hoey believed the shark was going to damage the boat’s engine so he grabbed a garden broom and used it to fend off the 5.5 metre shark.

“Once she got the cage filled with bait we thought she was done but then she came back wanting more,” he said.

“I tried to push the shark away from our boat, but she kept coming back to have another look at the motor.”

Mr Hoey said he was “in absolute awe of her.”

“I’ve seen sharks in the past and they’ve been quite stand-offish but this one was very fired up,” he said.

“She was quite aggravated, I think she was attracted to the outboard motor and propeller.”

Mr Hoey believed the shark was heavily pregnant.

“She was of breeding size, showing battle scars on her back and tail, most likely inflicted from mating rituals,” Mr Hoey said.

After 20 minutes he decided it was time to find another fishing location.

Mr Hoey’s wife, Rachael, said it took a couple of days for the incident with her husband to sink in.

“When Dan came home and showed me the vision I didn’t think too much of it because we are used to seeing sharks but after watching the video a couple of times it’s only just hit me how full on it was,” Mrs Hoey said.

“The shark tried to take a chunk out of the motor, and it left some marks and scratches.”

The couple own Salty Dog Charters, a fishing business which has been operating out of Port Fairy for four years.

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Originally published as Port Fairy man fends off great white shark with broom