Once again a terrifying shark attack off the Australian coast leaves a tourist dead. The 26 year old was attacked while snorkling with other tourists by a 20 foot shark whose species has yet to be identified. This is the first fatality since December in Australian waters and no shark hunts have been organized so far in tracking the animal.

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As a regular diver and fisherman, it is unfortunate that things like this happen, but we must understand that we share the oceans with these incredible animals. Humans invade their natural habitat and take the risk of invading their waters. I am glad to see that no hunts have been scheduled to date to seek retribution over this most unfortunate event.

Just for visual sake. This Mako hear weighed in at 1000+ pounds and is only 10 feet 10 inches long. Imagine what a 20 footer looks like.

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Just to clarify one thing, the victim of this attack was not a tourist.

Source

Sanc'.

True Sanctum, sorry for the mistype, he was a pleasure boat deck-hand snorkling with the tourists.

infinite8, i agree that the shark should not be hunted down as it was only doing what sharks do. The area is well known to be dangerous in this regard. But...

Hunt on for killer shark
Search for killer shark continues.

Sanc'.
edit: link

[edit on 20-3-2005 by sanctum]

yes, its a shame to hear that a nuther person gets taken by a shark.
but , having worked,swam in those very same waters, its sumthing that most know (in the back of their head)that the possibility of shark attack is very real.
he was a skipper on the vessel, he knew what the deal was ,
i have caught sharks as a job, big mutha's, they only do what the know how to do
anyone who is in the fishing/pleasure industry knows the risk,
i'm glad they didnt(called off )the hunt for this animal,
kicking/killing a dog cause it bark;s is pretty dumb
killing a shark cause it ate sumthin in IT;s habaitat is wrong
my condolence's to his family and freinds
btw his name was geoffrey brazier

Every time I read about a fisherman getting eaten by a shark, I get this big grin on my face. There's poetic justice in action, beautiful isn't it? I know he was a pleasure boat deck hand, but from experience I also know most men on the water are fishermen. I've been a fisherman all my life, caught my first shark when I was 4, and it still tickles me pink every time I hear about a shark getting back at us two-legged predators.

A former buddy of mine lost his younger brother to a grouper in the bahamas (swallowed him whole), they were spear fishing together and he saw it happen right before his eyes. When he told me about it years after the fact, he was sad about it, but yet he had this little smile on his face, and he said to me, "you know, better that way than any other." I agreed, and still do to this day.

BTW, are you sure that's a Mako? The color is that of a Mako on top, but the snout, and underbelly look more like a Great White...

the teeth arrangement appear to be that of a mako, gw would have a # load of big diamond;s up front

Well, you're right, it does appear to have those in-curving, sand shark-like teeth, but it also looks like the lower lip was sliced off and perhaps the gums were damaged, so that configuration might be artificial, like they were bashed in from contact with the boat or something. You're right though, the teeth do appear to be mako-like.

as you say, he may have had a encounter with the side of the boat of his captor;s
having wittnessed 1st hand ,shark;s in the wild,
we were out 135km due west of derby(w.a. coast) catching tuna, when the water started to bubble,
shark's appeared from no where, 1, about 14-16ft, just went straight at the side of the boat, jaw's wide open ,hit the hull, then turned back and attacked the shark i had (accidentally)hooked
a rather ferocious sight.
seeing it hack into a ton of mass, its easy to see how a human stand's no chance against 1 of these creature's
yeah, i had a freind taken by a shark
in the gulf(carpentaria) back in 84,
sad, but same deal, he knew the risk's and was prepared 2 take them,
leave the poor shark's be i say
(and that is from sum1 who caught them 4 a living)
3-6 fter's are for eating
the larger 1's are no good to eat, so leave em b

Damn, what a way to go. I like to boogie-board during the summer in Malibu with my son and thats the deepest Ill go into the ocean....diving is too scary for me cause once your under water, your part of the food chain.

Your just a cheese-burger with fins to that 5000lb monster.


Maximu§

I'm not so sure about not destroying he shark. When a tiger or lion becomes a maneater it tends to stay that way. Is the same true for sharks? The interseting thing to note is, the shark didn't eat him. It attacked, and of course this killed him. But it didn't eat him no? Perhaps this shark is less likely to attack a human, because it knows that they aren't, well, as edible as seals.

Wyrde, heres the link with an additional photo of the Mako. A big boy.

www.snopes.com...

Interestingly enough, the Makos don't seem to attack humans quite as much as other species of shark (tiger sharks, bull sharks, great whites).

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Wyrde, a question about your friend's brother that died after the jewfish (goliath grouper) got a hold of him. You said it swallowed him whole, do you mean it got a hold of his arm or head and held them there until he drowned?

I know they can grow up to 900 pounds and 6-8ft long, but most of the incidents I have heard of, they just take some of the skin off the person arm or back of their hand. Problem is infection sets in pretty quick, so treatment is important. I have heard that the large grouper can get a hold of your arm and lock itself into the reef. Once this happens, you had better have a big breath and a dive knife or you are dead.

[edit on 3/20/2005 by infinite8]

I have a problem with the theory that once a shark attacks it can become a maneater that will eagerly pursue human flesh. To a shark we don't have enough meat or fat so we are probably to bony for their liking. That's like saying that if I decided to try and eat a rat that I'm gonna give up new york strip and hang out at the dump for my next meal. Sharks, I should say larger species of sharks, prefer seals, sea lions, fish, dolphins and whales. Actually, most sharks love to be scavengers and would just as well feed on the carcasses of dead whales and fish than hunt. In my opinion, I believe that most, if not all, of these attacks are accidents, on the part of the shark. Just as a dog or cat might lash out, so will a shark for it's in their nature and is what makes them such successful predators. Once they realize what they have attacked, humans, they will most likely just let it go and keep looking.

The search has been called off as of right now. They believe that by this time any remaining body parts would have been carried off by the current.

www.chron.com...
Also, the Abrolhos is a lot of islands and (has) a big volume of fish and many, many sharks ... we don't think there's anything left," he said.

Australia has a reputation for shark attacks, with Brazier's death the fourth fatal shark attack in the past nine months. International Shark File figures show most attacks occur in North American waters.

The first documented shark attack in Australia was in 1791 and there have been more than 625 attacks in the past 200 years, about 190 of them fatal.

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Swim at your own risk. It only happens 3 times a year in Australia, so your chances are very slim of getting bit.

I remember distinctly, he said it swallowed him whole. His younger brother wasn't a grown adult, I don't know exactly how old he was, but my ballpark guess would be 12-16, somewhere in that region. These fish get BIG, and they gulp their prey, they don't chew or shake in most cases, they just swallow.

Take it with a grain of salt, because it's just heresay, but that's what he told me. Found some cool pictures, and the old ones aren't easily caught. Enjoy!