In separate incidents, two Western Australian spearfishermen are recovering from surgeries after being attacked by sharks—a great white, and a tiger shark.
Brett Highlands, 48, was fishing from a boat with friends off Quondong Beach, 31 miles (50km) north of Broome in Western Australia May 21.
The group was celebrating his birthday. Highland, a builder and experienced fisherman, said there was an eerie sense in the dark blue water and he’d noticed a lot of unusual fish present when he felt a pressure on his right arm. The pressure was from an estimated 10-foot (3m) tiger shark.
He said the shark’s first bite was oddly gentle, and as it bit a second time, he described it almost like a dog trying to get a better grip on a bone.
Highlands slammed his spear into the shark’s belly causing the shark to release its grip. He was able to backstroke to the boat, keeping watch underwater so the shark wouldn’t catch him by surprise.
Once he was back on the boat, his buddies used a weight belt as a makeshift tourniquet for the 30-minute journey back to Broome. He was flown to Perth where surgeons at the Royal Perth Hospital reattached his severed tendons.
It was determined he was bitten by a tiger shark after the bite marks on his wetsuit were analyzed. Highlands said he won’t let the event keep him from the water, but next time, he’ll wear a shark deterrent.
Spearo bitten by white shark
Spearfisherman Alex Dodds, 25, is recovering after his run-in June 23 with a suspected great white shark.
Dodds and his friend Brodie Paino were spearing off the Beagle Islands, about 260km north of Perth. As Paino dove down, he spotted a large white shark underneath him, and believes he startled the shark. As he quickly began to surface, he watched as the shark swam under Dodds and grabbed his leg.
Thinking quickly, Paino stabbed his spear toward the estimated 13-foot (4m) shark, but it was just out of reach. Although the speargun did not make contact, the shark released Dodd’s leg.
Paino said the shark could have easily turned and taken another bite, but instead swam away. The spearos headed to shore and alerted authorities around 2:30 p.m.
Dodds was taken to Leeman Nursing Post and then flown by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Perth. He sustained a 20cm laceration below the knee and is listed in stable condition.
Both locations have been marked on the 2021 Shark Attack Map.
