A pair of teenage snorkelers were chased by a shark in Wollongon.
Siblings Baxter, 13, and Taia Hanley, 16, were spearfishing June 14 off Bulli Point in New South Wales. They were searching for fish when a shark, thought to be a bronze whaler, appeared.
Taia, had her camera rolling as she and Baxter headed back to shore with the shark swimming in the distance. Suddenly, the shark turned and swam straight toward the teens, frightening them. Taia called for help, while her brother aimed his gun toward the shark.
After a few panicky seconds, the shark swam off and the siblings made it back to dry land.
Taia said she was shaken by the event but will always remember it.
It was the third shark encounter in the area within 12 hours, with sightings forcing surfers out of the water at nearby Thirroul and Austinmer beaches on Monday morning, June 15. And a large white shark has been electronically tracked near Kiama beach more than 15 times in the past eight days.
Large schools of bait fish may be responsible for attracting the sharks closer to shore.
On June 2, Another spearo had a similar encounter.
Lachlan Pye, 18, and friends were spearfishing off North Queensland when he encountered a shark.
The student had just speared a dead looking fish and began swimming back to the surface. About a quarter of the way back up, a bull shark charged and grabbed Pye’s fin.
Pye acted quickly and was able to kick off the fin and make it back to the surface.
The act of spearfishing is known to draw the attention of sharks. The vibration of struggling fish and blood in water are like a dinner bell to some sharks.
However, often the sharks will simply patrol the area looking for scraps. In rare cases, they may become aggressive and charge after speared fish or other items it may consider is possible prey. This is where the real issue lies.
Some divers believe you should sacrifice the catch and exit the area, while others believe this practice may encourage the sharks to learn a behavior and approach speafishers in the future.
Regardless of the individual’s theory on how to deal directly with curious sharks, there are several things spearos can do to increase their own safety.
Always dive with a group or buddy. Have a first aid kit that includes a tourniquet. Make sure to have a functioning waterproof marine radio and an emergency plan in case of any injuries. Most importantly is to let someone who is on shore know where you will be and what time to expect you back.
The approximate location of the Baxter interaction has been marked on the 2019 Shark Attack map.
