Bribie shark attack: Expert says Charlize Zmuda ‘did nothing wrong’, names bull shark as most likely perpetrator
A leading shark expert says Bribie Island shark attack victim Charlize Zmuda “did nothing wrong” and was just the unfortunate victim of a “freak tragic accident”, as he singled out the species most likely to have been the perpetrator.
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A leading shark expert says Bribie Island shark attack victim Charlize Zmuda “did nothing wrong” and was “just in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
Bond University biologist Dr Daryl McPhee, who specialises in shark attack research, said the teenager was the victim of a “freak tragic accident”.
“The victim did nothing wrong – she wasn’t being overly unsafe or anything,” he said.
“She’s clearly a competent beachgoer at quite a popular beach. Even though she wasn’t in the (patrolled) flags, we’re not talking about a remote area.
“I’ve been asked was she out too far … but it comes back to just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If she’d been 80m (out to sea) she still might have been bitten and if it was 150m she might not have.”
Dr McPhee said little could have been done to prevent the tragic attack, which he believed was likely carried out by a bull shark.
“I think it’s a tragic accident – no government can make a beach 100 per cent safe from sharks,” he said.
But he said research showed large bull sharks were most prevalent inshore between midday and 4am when water temperatures were 20C-plus and after at least 45mm of rain.
Charlize was attacked about 4.45pm on Monday while swimming about 100m offshore in an unpatrolled stretch of the beach.
Dr McPhee said recreational fishers had reported increased shark activity off Bribie Island.
“Part of that is just seasonal – you’d expect to see bull sharks at this time of the year, particularly when you’ve had significant rain in the catchment over the past few weeks, which we’ve had,” he said.
State Government shark control program figures reveal 14 sharks have been caught by drumlines off Bribie Island since 2017 – nine of them bigger than 2m.
Eight sharks have been caught in the island’s drumlines in the last three years, including three last year.
But Bribie recorded the fewest shark catches in the state since 2017, with its 14 dwarfed by the 1168 caught by government shark contractors off Townsville and the 1077 caught off the Capricorn Coast.
A total of 16,341 sharks have been caught off the Queensland coast since 2001, according to shark control program statistics.
Speaking in Townsville, Premier David Crisafulli expressed his sadness for the loss of the teenage girl.
“That is a very special part of the state, and it’s a very tight knit community, and to think that a young girl with all to live in her life, doing what she loves, could have her life taken away is really, really troubling and we are incredibly sorry to that family, and we are incredibly sad for their loss,” he said.
In response to ongoing conversations around safety along Queensland beaches and the rise in shark attacks, Mr Crisafulli said it would be a matter for the fisheries minister to consider in the report.
“I won’t go too much further, but I will make this point, people have to come first.
“The safety of humans always has to come before the welfare of a shark, and I’m incredibly sad at what’s happened, and we’ll make sure that the community … get the support they need.”
Originally published as Bribie shark attack: Expert says Charlize Zmuda ‘did nothing wrong’, names bull shark as most likely perpetrator
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