Gday to all; :wave:

Could anyone please tell me exactly what a "BULLSHARK" is and any info on them if you know please..

I was fishing here about 2 weeks ago in the local river{Shoalhaven River}here in Nowra and i seen a shark,everyone says to me it could be a "Bullshark",ive never heard of a bullshark before..

Any info be very much appreciated..

Thanx everyone..

Craig :wave:
:cheers:

Hi Craig,
I don't know what a bull shark is but when I went diving around Bega about 2 years ago I saw a lot of Bull Rays around the jetty. Is that what they mean?? ( A bull ray looks like a standard sting ray but are around the same size as a manta, about 2-4 metres across the fins depending on age)
:cheers:

Hi Craig & Seaweed, i've just looked up my fish book, which tells me theres about 250 species of sharks in the world, of which about half are in Australian waters - there are families of sharks mentioned, but did not name all 250 names & no sign of a bullshark - my fishing mate has a better book than me, so i'll get him to look it up - i rang him tonite, but he has also got sick of this weather with his farming & headed off to his beach shack for a few days fishing - lucky devil, its getting a bit too close to school hols for me to take a few days off unfortunately!
:wave: FE

Bullsharks are common in the Gold Coast canals - they've been responsible for a couple of fatalaties up here in recent years.

To quote the QLD DPI :
More info here , with a story from Catalyst here too.

Very interesting.A few years ago,I read a book about shark attacks in Australia.I noticed that many of the attacks were from Bullsharks,with some being fatal as Ben said.I think there may have been a fatal attack in the Georges River(Sydney)a long time ago.

Gday to all;

I very much appreciate your posts..

I was telling a few friends in which are water -skiers and water ski on the Shoalhaven River,they said they will be taking extreme care and they also will find this info very interesting too..

So many thanx to all,i appreciate it very much.. :wave:
:cheers:

Hello there, thought I would take it upon myself to educate you slightly on the Carcharhinus Leucas or Bull Shark as it is commonly known.
The Bull Shark has also been called the River Shark, Freshwater Whaler, Estuary Whaler and Swan River Whaler. It can be found from WA and around the northern coastline down the east coast to NSW.
It is the only species of shark that is known to spend extended periods of time in fresh water also.
A combination of different things make it easily recognisable such as the greyish heavy body, second dorsal fin, small eyes, short blunt snout and triangular serrated teeth.
Bull sharks are considered dangerous to humans -even more so than the Great White and are often found in water less than 30 feet deep!
They are estimated to live to 24 yrs and can grow up to 3.4m - 11 ft...
Bull shark flesh is consumed by humans and the skin is often used as leather.
There you go, a brief run down on the little blighters, any other sharks you need to know about... Im your informant

I was about to say similar. A 70 year old died last year from an attack in Gold Coast canal. More people die around the world from bull sharks than from any other shark. It has been found up to 2800 km up the Mississippi River in the USA and 4000 km up the Amazon River in Peru. It has been found in Lake Nicaragua (Central America) and the Zambezi River (Africa).

Without doubt it is the deadliest shark in the world as far as humans are concerned and loves rivers and estuaries and breeds in river mouths. I suspect it was one of these suckers I saw while surfing in the Maroochy river mouth about 3 years ago. Anyway it was a big shark about 6-8 ft long and looked a lot like the pics I've seen of bulls. Didn't hang in the water too long to find out for sure though.

It is a bloody versatile shark and "Until very recently, researchers thought the sharks in Lake Nicaragua were a separate species because there was no way for the sharks to move in or out. It was discovered that they were jumping along the rapids just like Salmon. Bull Sharks tagged inside the lake were later caught in the open ocean." Buggers......

i recently had a shark experience, with a WHITE POINTER

Hi All, ah Sic now you have saved me from thinking my memory was gone !!! yes i know about Freshwater & Swan River Whalers (i didn't know it as a Bullshark)- yes a few have been caught in the Swan River over the years, 1 in particular figured in a Crime war in Perth years ago when a mob threw a victim in the river thinking the body would not be found, but then the fishermen pulled in a Swan River Whalers with quite a few human bits still intact in it!!!
Now Percy you can't possibly post up a one liner saying you had an "experience" with a White Pointer - this is a fishing thread for heaven sake !!!!! - you HAVE to tell us about it????
For a while we had the world record for a White Pointer caught by a World Champion Game fisherman named Green hook a big one off Albany back when the Whaling Station was working in the 1970's The big whites used to follow the Whales up as they were towed up from the Southern Ocean. I saw it when it was landed, it was huge around the middle and from memory was about 15ft long - i'll keep my eye out in my office & might find the photo i took. i've caught a few sharks over the year, the biggest was unintentional when a 9ft 6in bronze whaler got tangled in my fishing net one night. When we lifted him up he had rolled 60 meters of net around him - i thought he was dead until his nose came out of the water and he was very much alive and with one swish of his tail took all the front windscreen off my mates new boat and got his teeth stuck in an oar - great excitement for a few minutes!!! Today when i catch sharks i mostly release then - poor things are getting hammered by shark fisherman & that rotten mob who catch them & cut their fins off gets me really upset.
Anyway no fishing for me for last few weeks as its been too rough, but got one of my best ever catches of King George whiting just over a month ago.
:wave: FE

ok, ok. it was exactly this weekend last year and my dad went for a dive and i sat on the shore and watched. I saw my dad surface to get his bearings then he submerged again, but anout 30 seconds later i saw this huge white pointer on the surface in the same spot i last saw my dad, i nearly S#@t myself, but lukily five minutes later i saw a seal and i thought he was safe again, which he was.

Hey Guys,

I haven't been fishing for ages, must get down to the coast again soon with a rod and reel.
Anyway. My uncle, a bit of a renogade hippy lives up the NSW N coast, near Casino I think, and he's a pretty avid surfer. One day as he was sitting on his board waiting for a set, he noticed his shadow below him but didn't take much notice, until it started moving while he wasn't lol.
He leant down to block out the glare, and sh@t himself as he made out the pec fins of a grey nurse he thinks it was. He bolted, understandably and made it back it into shore without any contact with the shark.
When he was telling us this story, he said that at first he thought he was dreaming, but had been off week for years and couldn't understand why he was having these halucinations lol.

:cheers: Will

Blue Mountains Photography

grey nurse = harmless. Seen them plenty of times on the mid north coast of NSW.

Also, the georges river has seen 10 recorded attacks of the 12 total for the Sydney regions eastuaries. Plenty of sharks there.

The Grey Nurse isn't a threat. Went diving with them at Julian Rocks off Byron in May.

I did have a bad experience last December surfing at Phillip Island. Two of us were out at Magiclands (near Woolami) sitting out the back when a 6-8ft Bronze Whaler surfaced about 10m directly behind me heading in our direction. My mate said "get your feet up" because it slowly submerged as it got closer. I think I kicked my legs in a mad panic to get moving and it was startled or something and it just went under us and didn't attack.
I can tell you that you go from thinking you're in the best place on earth to suddenly thinking it is going to be your last moment on earth. We paddled our guts out (typically there was a lull) for what seemed forever until the shorey picked us up. That's when we noticed the Westpac plane doing circles & dives right where we were.
It hasn't put me off, that's my first encounter surfing like that in over 25 years and you take more of a risk evey time you climb into the car.....

Wobbeygongs arnt a risk either

Im a shark fanatic, i can name just about every species of shark there is

A. Because they are facinating
B. Because they scare the absolute bejesus out of me.

The grey nurse, wobbeygong lol, and whale shark are 3 of the most placid sharks there are, the grey nurse is often mistaken as a fierce predator because of its size and teeth, in actual fact they do not attack unless provoked or scared, theres a school of them at Hyams Beach at Jervis Bay, they swim around along with pods of dolphins, they dont worry me and it was one of my favourite swimming areas.

The Bullshark is responsible for more deaths than any other shark, its a pack shark and has a tendency to play an "alpha" type role due to having too much testosterone making it more aggressive, the bullshark will attack unprevoked, for the thrill, the kill and to eat. They are often found in fresh water and inlets more so than any other waters and go up river to have their young, they have been found as far inland up to 120kms. The movie jaws was based on the Jersey shark attacks which is believed to have been from a bullshark as the inlet was fresh water, but theres nothing scarier than a great white to knock your socks off. Alot of deaths go unreported in India as their cannals are full of these monsters who prey on their human supply, to the bullshark we are a food source.

The most deadliest sharks in the world are

Bullshark
Tiger shark
Mako Shark (the cheetah of the shark world being able to launch itself at 50mph and jump over 9 meters in the air)
Great White Shark
Reef Shark
White tip Shark
Hammer head shark
Lemon Shark
Blue Shark

Below is a picture up close and personal with a bullshark

Hi Krissy,

Have you personally seen those sharks you refer to as grey nurses at hyams beach? in my several sightings of grey nurse sharks while spear fishing i have never seen them in water less than 10m deep or more than about 2 metres of the bottom, meaning they are extremely unlikely to be seen from a beach or by a swimmer in general(sharks seen from a southern nsw beach are generally bronze whalers or hammerheads). also grey nurse sharks are quite uncommon so there are only a few places in nsw to see a "school" of them - magic point at cronulla and fish rock/julian rocks in northern nsw are the well known ones.

you have some good points there though it does sound as though you have been misinformed on some of the sharks listed. i agree with bull sharks and tigers as the two most frequent attackers however i would place great whites at no. 3. While makos and blue sharks are fast and have large teeth, they primarily live in the open ocean so present little danger to swimmers. Lemon sharks are completely harmless, while the only danger reef sharks pose is a bite on the hand if feeding them. Large hammerhead sharks are certainly dangerous, they have been known to be very persistent in aggressive behaviour towards spear fishermen. The only hammerhead shark i have seen in the water was about 1.5 metres long and was scared of me so was clearly not a threat at that size.

the only time i have ever been in a dangerous situation with a shark was one night when i was fishing with a friend out of a 16 foot boat. Hoping to catch either snapper or smaller sharks we had suspended some kingfish frames off the back of the boat, and were also pouring tuna oil into the water. Eventually what looked like a submarine swam just under the boat, it was an enormous tiger shark about the same size as the boat - luckily it did not ram or bite the boat or we would have been in real trouble!

if you get the chance to do some snorkelling or scuba diving it will greatly increase your knowledge of shark species and their habits, and you will come to realise that 99% of the sharks just want a feed of fish and are really not interested in removing your leg

Hi hun

Yes indeed i have seen them in that area, im not your regular beach goer, I like to know whats below me and have been known to use a snorkel on many occassions, they also used to take tourists there as well. The last time i went in at Hyams was back in 2003 so perhaps the school has moved on I wouldnt know at this point in time. Seen some amazing creatures in the bay, especially on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff face below the old lighthouse.

I should have pointed out that the list i made was just a general list and not a given of which species is the most likely to eat you haha.

Ive heard the stories about the trollers/fishing boats being circled by monsters, i would crap myself if that ever happened to me. My great grandfather had trollers my nan always used to tell me about the time they harpooned a great white that was bigger than the "25 foot" boat, pops that saying out of jaws into my head "we need a bigger boat" They used to launch from Tassie in the colder waters and I guess back then before everyone went on a Kill all Great Whites crusade they did get to grow old

yes there's some great diving around point perpindicular, i've seen lots of kingfish there and one of my dive buddies saw a marlin there once. you certainly don't have to swim far from the cliffs before it drops into some very deep water (20 metres plus about 50 metres out from the cliff). The 2 places i have seen grey nurse sharks were near currarong just to the north of jervis bay, the largest one i have seen was around 3 metres long and for a brief moment i thought it could have been a great white (similar profile when viewed from above) until i noticed the second large dorsal fin and the brown spots on it's skin. I would certainly rate that as one of the best experiences of my 15 years of diving but wish i had a camera with me.

and yes after that run in with the tiger shark it felt like we were fishing off a bodyboard lol

There's a great book called Shark! Killer Tales From the Dangerous Depths by Robert Reid, ISBN 978-1-74175-902-0 which is a relatively new release and contains information on Shark Attacks around Australia with very good and accurate descriptions of sharks, both dangerous and harmless. There's another book called Shark, In Peril In the Sea by David Owen which is a more scientific catalogue of sharks.

The Bull Shark is the 3rd most dangerous shark found in Australian waters. Partly, as stated earlier, because it can live in fresh water for extended periods. It is responsible for probably the highest number of shark attacks out of all the predators (1st most dangerous istThe Great White and 2nd is the Tiger Shark). Dr John Stevens from the CSIRO says of Bull Sharks, "It is a very dangerous shark, perhaps even more so than the Tiger Shark and White Shark because of its extremely aggressive nature, powerful jaws, broad diet, abundance, and its preference for shallow, murky inshore habitats". (from his book Sharks and Rays of Australia)

A Bull Shark is believed responsible for the last fatality recorded in Sydney Harbour, 28/01/63, actress Marcia Hathaway was attacked off a small beach in the Harbour while with friends looking for oysters.

Several people were attacked in and around Gold Coast canals during a particular few months recently and some lost their lives because of the Bull Sharks that inhabit the area.

The Bull Shark is an entirely frightening animal, there is, almost beyond belief, what's called a "shark Listening Station" in a Northern NSW town called Tabulam. It's approx 100km from the coast. The Clarence River runs in from Yamba-Iluka and the sharks hang around Nymboida and Tabulam. Scientists have electronically tagged the known sharks in the river and use the listening stations to monitor their movements. There are lots of listening stations around rivers and estuaries up and down the east coast.

Read this article for more info...
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/na...r-1225961188123

I have always been fascinated by Sharks. I also have a very healthy fear of them and don't particularly enjoy swimming in water potentially inhabited by sharks. I just don't want to be eaten alive. If I go to the beach I will only enter water when I can see the bottom and don't go in more than knee deep in some cases.

btw, on the subject of Wobbegongs and "harmless" sharks. There are certainly recorded attacks precipitated by these sharks. Particularly Wobbegongs. Funnily enough, they are one of the most common to bite people, mostly because they get stepped on or picked up. There is a story in the Robert Reid Shark book about a guy who was surfing I think and attacked by a Wobbegong which latched onto his leg and would -not- let go. He walked along the beach for a couple hundred metres til he arrived at a surf club, the staff there were astonished to see the shark still hanging off his leg. They couldn't get it to open its jaws at all so they stuck a hose down its mouth, not liking the fresh water, it let go and the surfer promptly drove himself to hospital!

Sharks are very interesting creatures!!

I and an unknown number of other banana benders/QLDer`s enjoy the odd bit of smaller river flake,called the bull shark.
below is my understanding of the "bullie"

Bull Sharks

. The Great White, The Tiger Shark and the Bull Shark are the sharks commonly quoted as being the most dangerous sharks. The Bull Shark is said to be the less aggressive of the three, but the Bull Shark’s environment has it living/roaming in areas close to populated shoreline areas making it extremely dangerous to humans.It has a number of different names both in Australia and around the world and so people think they are a different species of shark.

Coloured grey (to a pale brownish) above and off white underneath. The Bull Shark has small eyes and very powerful jaws. The upper teeth are broad, serrated and triangular, while the lower jaw has more pointed teeth.

They have a large triangular dorsal fin and a medium large second dorsal fin.The first dorsal fin is more pointed than the second.

The Bull Shark is heavy bodied with a short nose. The shark is wider in comparison to its length than most other sharks of comparable length. They grow to about 3.5 metres and 230 kg.

Known by the scientific name Carcharhinus leucas, in Australia,the Bull shark can be known as an Estuary Whaler, River Shark, Freshwater Whaler,as well as a number of local names eg:Swan River Whaler.
Note that many of the Bull Shark s` local names include the words estuary and river.

Bull Sharks tend to stay close to shore and frequent estuaries, rivers and lakes. One of the most distinctive features of the Bull Shark is the ability to live in fresh or salt water

The Bull Shark is found in most Australian water systems including Brisbane and Bremer Rivers,Mary and Burnett Rivers,Fitzroy and Herbert Rivers in Qld, Swan River WA, Clarence River and other NSW rivers, Daly River and other NT rivers.Many “shark experts”believe that the Bull Shark is responsible for most of the attacks that have occurred in and around Sydney Harbour .

The Bull Shark is certainly related to the whaler family and is commonly confused with the Bronze Whaler.

The shark favours murky water for hunting. The sharks diet includes fish, sharks, turtles,dolphins,sting rays, birds, and even swimming dogs have been included in its menu.

So the Bull Shark is just :a common, aggressive, meat eating(usually white but will partake in red if offered)reasonably large sized shark that frequents the shallow coastal waters, river mouths, estuaries, harbours and rivers,around almost, the entire Australian coastline.
Most keen fishermen/women are aware of this shark in the water ways, others are not as aware of these silent lurkers.

Many anglers in Qld do fish for them,the legal keep size in Qld is 1.5metres or less with a limit of 1 shark per person.

Bull Sharks are a really good reason to Not swim in river mouths,and murky waters.

This site describes various accounts of a bull shark attack that occurred on Stradbroke Island in 2006 at Amity Point. I was there that day, and remember it well. That same week, I was in waist deep water (at a different part of the beach) with a number of people and saw a shadow about 100m to my left near the shore. I got out of the water to look and saw it was a large bull shark swimming in thigh deep water. This was in the middle of the day in clear water. I got everyone out of the water as calmly as I could, and it continued to cruise up and down - but just goes to show they aren't always the aggressive monsters they are portrayed to be - it could have attacked any one of us and we wouldn't have stood a chance.

when areas of Ipswich and Brisbane were flooded in January this year,the flooded waters of the Brisbane River engulfed large parts of the Ipswich suburb of Goodna.
The Ipswich motorway (to Brisbane)in that area was covered in many metres of water bull sharks were seen(confirmed reports)swimming in the motor way waters.

A Goodna member of a fishing online site I use actually had a bullie swimming in swollen waters in his yard(confirmed report.

In January/February each year schools of bait fish travel up the coast and go past the Gold Coast area and go into areas of Moreton Bay,these schools are attacked as they travel along the coast by packs of bullies,whalers and I would guess the odd tiger shark.
This scene goes on,sometimes only a few hundred metres,off the Gold Coast beach`s.

Each year this event is covered on the regional TV news.

This year,so far there has not been any mention of this event occuring,so I am wondering if the massive flooding of SEQ and parts of northern NSW has affected the usual migration of these bait fish schools.Time will tell

I do a lot of fishing around Havanah Island, part of the Palm Island group, yeah i know, tough job but somebody has to do it. 3 of us where fishing off the beach on the north western point of the island when several giant trevally of around 6kg beached themselves like a bait school being chased by something huge. Grabbed a couple before they could get back into the water and then saw a fin I estimated to be just under a metre high followed by the huge head of a hammerhead almost breaching out of the water. Almost crapped myself as it was less than 20 metres off shore. We don't nowmally go swimming over there due to various large beasties but that one put us off ever going back into the water. Plenty of cranky tiger sharks around as well and they do grow very big. About 10 years ago we got shadowed by one while in 14 foot barra punt fishing about 3 klm off shore at the Paluma Shoals. It was longer than the boat.

I grew up in PNG and started diving on teh reefs off Port Moresby/Taurama Barracks as a 9 year old with the native kids and didn't have a fear of sharks. The other kids were not scared of teh reefies or tigers but we all left the water when being investigated by sea snakes. lol

Some awesome photos in the Daily Telegraph today & a lucky escape for a photographer.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/ns...i-1226004017898

i wouldn't consider that photographer to be taking a big risk photographing that mako shark, the water is crystal clear and the shark is already feeding on an easy meal. If the guys in the boat wanted to be a smartass they could have lifted the marlin onboard before the shark got a bite, then things could have got interesting hehe

What is the difference between a bull shark and reef shark or any other?

A bull shark has a more distinctive curve at the the end of its tail compared to a reef shark. Otherwise they look pretty much the same, I reckon.

Surfed the shallows last Monday, it was small but very 'fishy'. Later I was told that there was a 14ft tiger shark out the day before, supposedly verified by some fishermen in a bost as well.

Now sharks targetting golfers!

http://www.carbrookgolfclub.com.au/default2.asp?page=sharks

I'm tipping the kids aren't getting balls outta this lake.

That is very cool! And I used to dislike the eels when seaching for golfballs!

I have always liked sharks. I caught (and released) a shark this summer for the first time. Only a small one but on 6 lb line it really gave me a hard time.

a baby grey it will die soon as theres no fresh saltwater entering the lake

Stormy, I've been doing some "research" aka googling and youtubing, and it seems that the shark is actually sharks, and they have been there for a number of years, since the early 90's apparently, when that area was under water for a number of weeks after flooding. And looking at the numerous videos it/they appear to be Bull Sharks, which don't need salt water to survive.

I believe near map may have caught it in a recent pass over the area, http://tinyurl.com/3h8kcjf (nothing like that in that area on previous images)

and they've also opened up a small channel between the 2 lakes (compare to previous images) where another small object can be seen in the smaller lake.
http://tinyurl.com/3us4xaj (again, nothing in the previous images in that area)

And as for a food sources, well apparently the lake is very healthy and they hold annual fishing comps on the lake.

Quite a few clips on youtube, like http://youtu.be/n9mzz_vJgPQ

Simon

I wonder what it would be like to punch a shark on the nose . . .
Just kidding, I respect sharks. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone.

Other than morphological differences... the bull shark and reef shark differ in their niche habitat requirements, ecology & behaviour.

Bull sharks will forage well inshore up creeks, rivers, in mangrove habitats and will take whatever prey they can- given the opportunity. Their territory & ecological niche has a significant overlap with the urban /human environments and thus they represent more of a risk /hazard to waterloving humans. They are highly territorial and will attack any other large competitor. They are highly opportunistic- having all the tools required to take large prey. Humans definately trigger their prey stimulus - so we are on their menu as a food. They spend a lot of time in shallow in-shore waters and waterways. Land-use changes (urbanisation) are probably exerting a big influence on the evolution of Bullsharks - just think that here in Australia at least - Bullshark habitat remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years and that in the last 300 or so years we have dramatically changed the face of the coastline & inshore areas.

The reef shark occupies a slightly different niche environment that provides less overlap with human environments (rocky reefs near swimming beaches or other reef habitat closer to the inshore /beach areas). For example the Blacktip reef sharks (C. melanopterus) are highly territorial and will patrol their reef and will show site fidelity (returning to the same 'home' ranges). They will hunt in packs and also alone, whereas in comparison the bullshark is a solitary hunter. Reef sharks might spend a lot of time in-shore- occupying sandy ledges, rocky reefs and will also spend time in deeper waters around reef edges & drop-offs. They spend less time in urban waterways or entering brackish waters than the Bullshark. Humans are not their target prey and generally these sharks are considered harmless unless feeding or provoked.

I expect that the mode of attack would be very different too - (any experts should correct me If I am wrong to think) a Blacktip reef shark will make it's presence known first, being a skittish, nervous sort of shark, it will suss you right out, circle you and show obvious signs of aggression such as jerky, bucking, tailwhipping action before attacking... Just as with a dangerous dog you should not turn your back to it as it circles but maintain eye contact - thats if you are scuba diving.

whereas a Bullshark will ambush you, come in hard & fast for a bite- WHAM -you won't know what even happened (similar technique to a Great White) you would take a massive hit and then hopefully it would spit you back out...

i had tis same experience before a year..its dangerous..



regards,

siberian husky puppies for sale | beagle puppies for sale | golden retriever puppies for sale | bullmastiff for sale | chihuahua for sale | french mastiff puppies for sale

I think you observations may have more to do with the enivronment, the clarity of the water than actual attack style.

I have spent many years fishing in creeks and rivers for bull sharks and I can tell you that they are a very cautions and shy predator.

Yesterdays fatality due to shark attack has some of the less informed populace calling for a shark cull off WA.
It seems that this is mankinds answer to almost every 'wildlife conflict' But will not reduce the potential risk to divers, surfers or anyone that chooses to swim in the ocean. Sharks live in the ocean and perform important functions maintaining ecosystem balance - clearing the ocean of dead animals, picking off the sickly and weak individuals in marine animal populations etc. On the rare occasion a human is attacked and more tragically this ends in fatality. Why is it such a difficult reality for humans to face up to? Sharks live in the ocean and can be extremely dangerous predators. When you snorkel, scuba dive, surf, spearfish or do anything else in 'their habitat' you place yourself at risk! Culling is just a way to appease fear in the minds of the ignorant - it will not reduce your risk if you choose to enter the ocean.
As for nets and baited hooks - their whole purpose is to reduce shark numbers. Sharks swim around or under nets and some will have learnt how to take bait from the hooks without being hooked. I have seen this with my own eyes (using binoculars of course) as I live on the headland... often have observed medium sized sharks coming inshore to the baited hook /drum line just after it has been baited (by the guy in the tinny). Following a bit of a commotion and movement (drumline and buoy bobs up and down a bit) the shark then swims off back out to sea. Thankfully we do not have nets on our beaches as yet.

If you dress like a seal, act like a seal and get eaten by a shark who thinks your a seal how the hell can it be the sharks fault?

If you want a safe sport take up tissue paper folding.

If you want to dive you must be prepared for the risks of diving.

Hunting down and killing the shark isn't the answer.

Who is to say they get the right shark or should they just kill every shark in sight in the vain hope that they get the right one?

It could be a couple of hundred kilometers away by now anyhow ahnd taking revenge on an animal just because it obeys it's instinct to feed isn't going to help anyone now is it?.

Yeah look I have to agree with you SBT. Black wetsuits are not helping your chances. A shark patrolling 500metres offshore within 5-6kms of a seal haul out area would be on the look out for a ambush attempt on a seal looking object. This poor fella just happenend to be in the wrong spot. A Great white hitting at high speed is always going to be damaging as that is what they are designed to do.

If I was a commercial wetsuit manufacturer I would be doing some research into shark's colour preferences. A bright yellow wetsuit vs a black one although surfers and divers may not like it would definately decrease the likely hood of an attack purely out of the fact that a big yellow object is not normally on their menu.

To follow up on my previous post. A good kayaking friend of mine here in Broome who has been kayaking fishing for the last 25 years was attacked by a big tiger shark in his early days. His kayak was a green/silver colour and he put the attack down to the shark thinking his kayak was a large marine animal/fish etc. He still has the kayak in his back yard with the teeth marks and all. The bite was across the front metre of his kayak as if the shark was going for the head of the animal.

He has been using a yellow plastic kayak for years now and he says he has never had any bad encounters and he puts it down to the shark not being interested in a big yellow object. The sharks no doubt are still interested in his fish which he catches though just he feels safer with the bright colour of his boat now.

We have been kayaking the waters here in Broome commercially for 10 years on a daily basis with big yellow boats and have never had an issue with sharks either (touch wood) and from all accounts from fisherman there are hundreds out there.

WA does have an issue on its hands I have to agree. I have swam and paddled a kayak in close proximity to all of of the sites of Attacks over the last decade in WA. Margaret river area X 2 fatal attacks, Bunker bay/dunsborough X 1, Cottesloe X 2, Safety Bay X 1, Abrolhos Island X 1 and now Rottnest Island X 1. They are all areas where the general public and tourist visitor are swimming on a regular basis and its not nice to see people getting eaten by sharks. Prior to these attacks in WA there was a period of many years with no fatal attacks in WA so why in the last 10 years has there been so many?

I'm just glad that my application to run kayaking tours on Rottnest this summer was rejected by the Rottnest Island Authority otherwise we would have been setting up our operations down there this week.

6 out of 8 of those attacks the people were all wearing a black wetsuit. 8 out of 8 attacks were in in near vicinity and feeding grounds of either Australian sealions and NZ fur seals and there haul out areas. Most attacks were probably mistaken identity from the Great White. Like I say. If you wear a black wet suit in the southern waters of Australia your fair game to a big shark. Buy a yellow one. Pink one if you really need to. lol. Just dont look like a seal.

Anyway enough ranting on. Sharks play a significant role in my interests and previous work so it gives me the shivers thinking these attacks are happening so regularly. I honestly think WA is not out of the news yet on this topic. It wouldn't surprise me if there were a few more this season. It just seems like its on a role and there will be more bad publicity for WA and for visiting and swimming off our beautiful beaches.

It would be an interesting exercise to see how many of those attacks also happened during the humpback whale migration Popeye, specifically the later half of it when they're making their way back down the coast with new calves. Certainly these last three recent ones fit that time frame, and with another couple of months still to go, I tend to agree with your final remarks.

Another point worth considering is the increased pressure on fish stocks by humans - just maybe the sharks are starting to get a lot hungrier than they have ever been before. Fishing comps, commercial catches, an exploding amateur fleet, commonwealth netting practices out deep - it all has to affect the balance.

Hmm, another thought that comes to mind is that most shark attack victims get bitten and spat out, not eaten - my theory for that is because most people's personal care products and diets include some pretty unnatural stuff (eg, medications and vaccinations; aluminium antiperspirants; a cocktail of muck in sunscreens; chemical preservatives, colourings and "flavours" in food; alcohol; maccas..) which surely wouldn't be all that agreeable to a shark. I imagine most humans would be a pretty toxic tasting mouthful once the blood starts flowing. That might be another interesting study to undertake - what is the typical diet of the bitten but spat out victims, and what was the typical diet of the eaten ones.

Popeye, it sounds like you operate in the thick of shark infested waters (lol- just sensationalising) but no seriously, do you see many sharks around, would it be seasonal? Have you had any encounters, particularly of late? In your opinion, based on your observations, is shark behaviour /population changing or do you think increased visitation/ use of marine areas by increasing numbers of humans is a factor?

Sounds like you are onto something and I agree that wetsuit manufacturers should be looking into shark 'repellent' designs - there is definately a market out there for them!

I agree with the mistaken identity theory. Spearfishermen in particular should take care (for obvious reasons - sharks powerful sense of smell, lateral line system means it can sense struggling, stressed creature from miles away... and all the other attributes that make sharks a formidable predator in their habitat).

Interested to hear whether people think shark attacks can be prevented using means other than culling? Do you suppose that an education campaign would help?

Hey Chunky and Jax. In 10 years of operating kayaking tours in Broome I have mainly seen hammerheads 8-12ft. Most have been in full chase on stingrays in the shallows. Its a pretty amazing sight to see. They have huge dorsal fins that are sickle shaped and are sleek through the water. Got circled by something big a few years ago up the peninsula north of Broome maybe big Tiger shark. He was just curious and came within 1-2 metres of the kayak. Our kayak was 5 metres and he went close to the length of the boat. That had me rushing a bit.

We used to operate kayaking tours down in Perth at Penguin and Seal Islands near Rockingham and within a few KMS of where that Saftey Bay guy got taken a few years ago. As the name of the place says theres heaps of animal life in the waters but never saw any sharks there in 6 years of operating on the islands. I have to admit operating in the Great white territory had me more nervous compared to the tropics of Broome which I feel pretty safe on the water. Great whites are just the ultimate in predatory animals and deserve the respect.

Once back in Tassie back in 99 we were on a 5 day kayaking trip down in Freycinet peninsula with a company down there and they had a big white sighted by a tourist boat and the photos from the boat had us in the background. That freaked me out a bit.

We get heaps of smaller shark sightings but just little 1m reefsharks that are fun to watch. Wet season tends to get more sightings as the waters are warmer and they seem to come into the shallows more.

Stuart Trueman who just kayaked around Australia finishing in Broome in July said he only encountered bumps etc when in really murky waters. Didn't have any sightings across the southern Ocean but was on his mind a fair bit especially around the neptune islands etc off SA. Bloody amazing trip that would have been.

I honestly think sharks are evolving to suit their rapidly changing environments and food supplies. Humans are also evolving to become water lovers with more and more water sports and activities available, more people participating and an ever increasing coastal population especially in WA. Combine the two and it is understandable that more people are being taken.

Anyway another long rant. I might have to focus my thoughts now on that CROC sign down on the beach I just saw an hour ago. MMMMMMMMM lol.

As tragic as it is(and I would not wish it on anyone), what is an average of 1-2fatal attacks per year.Are we going to cut down all the trees because a few people get killed when they fall down. And god forbid the road toll. It seems ironic that we don't care about somethng being extremely dangerous as long as it seems conveniant to ignore it but if something can be sensationalised and the average joe is nnever affacted by the culprit then it is all about Kill, Kill, Kill. Sharks operate on instinct. We are supposed to be smart. If you don't want to be eaten by a shark, don't go in the water. It's as simple as that. If you choose to go in, you choose to take the risk. KNOWINGLY!

From memory ( excluding Abroholos Islands attack May or June ? ) most of the GW attacks have happened between Aug-Nov . And to shorten that , mid to late sept through to mid October really stands out . I don't need to look it up they stand out in my life as reminders for caution , but if interested please do and correct me if I'm wrong . I too like Popeye , have hung around many of the attack sites for many a unnerving time , but with a lot less protection ( surfer ) .
I can say that people i've shared time with in a close knit community of ocean lovers ( surfers, divers , fisho's , and the like ) have shared many a haunting story around fires or at sunset on boat trips . Nearly all don't let it affect them , and even most fisho's are against flat out culling . It seems its joe Bloggs that already has a fear for them and maybe goes to the beach for a swim 3 times a year is the one bayying for Blood .
I can also see a direct corellation between a recovering whale / seal population proliferation , and the number of people in the water . As for black wetsuits , in places you really need them East of Augusta , and Sth + West of Ulladulla , I can tell you this is where most suits are designed for . Especially for surface dwellers ( the people most at risk ) , the need for black is purely a warmth thing as any sunlight helps the user stay warmer . Now only the coldest of Vicco/Tas waters will not need that for maybe 3-4 mths of the year . But who's gonna buy a year round wetsuit that doesn't cover most of the year " especially cheap skate surfers !!

I myself have never actually seen a white in the ocean close up , and some ( especially close non water friends ) would scratch their heads at .? It seems I've always had an affiliation with " lack of crowds " as i always seeked solace & solitude for my own reasons as opposed to some who just do cause they enjoy it with mates . I have seen Tigers and many reef sharks , in warmer climates . But as an ab diver once told me , don't worry about a shark that you can see . Cause the one that'll have your number will be the white you never see .....
Hence people like myself , even with close links to some of these victims still overcome trepidation to continue . Crazy , people will say at bobbing at the surface 100-sometimes 500M offshore waiting for waves . And yes maybe a little, but even the most dodgy/ sharky places can be enjoyed , the only hard thing is sitting alone on the edge of really deep /dark water and a ( 5+ mins ) long lull lets your mind wonder .

With time and many horrific stories shared comes a learning of when not to go in the water .
And classic symptoms of an " unlucky day " can co-incide with the above mentioned time of the year . Which itself can have allsorts of links to their prey's movements , tides , weather related phenomena including water temps , cloud cover , after a blow or large rough swell . These latter effect visibility , and sometimes school fish moving into turbulent waters near shore . I would say that where possible these are the days to avoid , and sometimes the said school fish can leave a stench in the air . ( or maybe I'm overly sensitive ) . With every this and that of science and what not ( including rambling idiots like myself ) having an opinion , the cold hard reality of this is that not even so-called experts know why .
But when you speak to witnesses who still many years later break down at the gore of an attack or worst still the lack of , when something the size of a minibus inhales victim, (atleast once including board) and a couple of hundred litres of water in one foul mouthfull . One near Elliston SA with board and the other Abroholos WA , was described as the surface / ocean just disappeared below them , and then the familiar colours and shape of a flank or dorsal or tail . Then nothing , or in SA case a surf board shooting out of the water on its own 200-300 metres away.
When your committed to something its hard not to want less of a fear , but in all reality it continues to not stop people . Until actual numbers are known , i think comments from both sides should be taken with a dose of salt (pardon the punn ). I clearly believe that politics has taken hold in regards to Rottnest ( but thats another matter ) .

I vaguely remember something about big sharks liking cold currents?

Good to hear your stories Southern Oracle. Black wetsuits for warmth. Yeah OK. Makes sense. Not being a surfer I didn't know that. I don't know how surfers do it to be honest. The addiction of the wave I guess.

Yourself having lived on Rotto for a few years must make this latest attack a bit of an eye opener. I have heard mixed reports from a few sources as to whether he was spearfishing off Rotto at the time it happened. If so, spearfishing, overcast conditions, whale migrations, diving solo. That poor bloke just had too much going wrong for him.

We did that Rottnest island eco boat adventure this time last year which circumnavigates the island. Whales, dolphins awesome trip and deep water drop offs off the western end with that Seal colony at Cathedral rocks?? That place looked pretty sharky to me.

The Sharkiest place I have ever been was down off Cape Naturaliste NZ fur seal colony. We had an awesome paddle out there and snorkelled with the seals there. It was very shallow water so felt OK (less than 1metre). Spoke to a few locals about that area and it was renowned as a big great white location. Apparently a few kids in a tinnie had there motor attacked off Bunker Bay which was the Sept attack location and local fisherman and surfers knew of particular sharks that resided there for periods of time (probably again during whale season). Surfers must know the risk but the attraction of the wave is too much.

Image below is a pic I googled which shows the Cape Naturaliste NZ seal colony below. That little rocky outcrop in the water would have to be one of the scariest places to be a seal. Every shark that travels the WA coast would visit past that point on their journey north or south. Beautiful spot though and very memorable visiting there.

Yeah , Rottnest has been claimed to be sharky ,especially west end . When i was there , i reckoned i did my fair share of " shark baiting " as my grandfather used to dismay as he described my activities . In the late eightees a commercial fishing boat with a full load of frozen fish ran aground at Cathedrals ' and people stopped surfing their for a while . at that time the seals were hangin 500 m's away . As time went by people returned , and after the last pieces of the hull disapeared maybe around 2005 the seals returned into the cathedral inlet .

A few whales have washed up over the years , one exploded on purpose by fisheries ( a mess ) a long time ago . The other in Late 2005 ?/ Early 2006 ?? landed right in the middle of the popular Strickland surfing reef . They chopped that one up and buried nearby in dunes at " the spit " . a few days later i was one of the first to start surfing there . the smell was horendous and the water slimy for weeks . Strangely i was more worried about the oils effect on my expensive wetsuit .

To me even the deepest drop offs of rottnest was a walk in the park , as compared to VIC and SA , the warm clear water was not in my opinion a likely hotspot . The attack in the Abroholos ( ex islander ) was a wake up call . That and Smithy at Noisies near Gracetown .
But this has changed it , a bit . Not Good ......

When the conditions are righ you can indeed smell chopped up fish as an oily note to the air. We sometimes use it to track Tuna and mackeral feeding on bait schools. Mk 1 eyeball followed up by the MK2 nose. With very flat seas and no breeze the smell can be detected about a kilometre away from the source and this is from a bloke who smoked for 32 years but gave up 7 years ago.

I will never forget the smell of whale oil, we used to use it for burley off the old military jetty on Rotto back in the 60's (the wooden one before they pulled it down and buit the rock groyne)trying to catch Herring and yes it did bring the men in grey overcoats (Sharks) around to play but even then people wheren't as scared of sharks as they are now.

We have a rule when out fishing on the GBR - No Tiger sharks or Hammerheads in the boat and we won't swin in their sea.

But we still find fwits spear fishing up to a kilometre off the islands (Palm Group off Townsville) too busy watching all the pretty fish to see how far away from land they are. We had one scare the crap out of us by climbing aboard without any warning. 8 metre boat so no danger of capsizing us but fair dinkum he almost got the sharp end of a Mr Lee and Mr Enfield (shark detering device) right bewteen the looking gear. He was pretty game to as we had a burley trail out looking for MR Monster Spanish Mackerals. he would have been a certainty to be made into shark pharts if we hadn't been there. Idiot.

As someone who has spearfished all my life (at least since I could swim properly) I have a very good respect for sharks. I have been bitten once or twice, mostly curiosity from the sharks themselves. An 8ft Tiger gave me a little more than a love bite around 14 years ago on the GBR and I still have one of its teeth (that I removed from my right calf muscle) on a necklace at home. However, saltwater is in my blood and even though the odd person does meet their maker through shark attack it wont stop the majority of the population who were brought up in and around the ocean.

Statistically you have more chance of being run over by a bus than killed by shark attack.

SBT, next time I'm in Townsville waters I'll be sure to pop up beside the boat and say G'day, LOL.

Well said, agree 100%.

Near where I live there is a gulf known as spencer gulf. The northern end of this gulf is full of large snapper and cuttlefish and so on and therefore you would expect there to be sharks about.

Quite a few years ago they caught a 6 or so metre great white in netting which is now in Port Piries tourist centre. Having had a look at it I must say they are damn scary looking things and I can fit half my body inside its mouth.

Since then there has been quite a few locals from this area claiming to have seen an even bigger great white than this with estimates of it being up to 7 meteres. Some people have even claimed to have seen it swim between posts under Port Germain jetty. Stories like this really make you think before getting into the water!!!

Always when I hear of sharks and shark attacks, arguably the worlds most famous shark attack survivor comes to mind, Rodney Fox:

https://www.rodneyfox.com.au/

Some kid was taken by a shark just of our beach about 10 or so years ago. He was sailing a little cat by himslef, and the ruddy thing just tipped him over and killed him.I have had a fear of going near that stratch of beach ever since, but it still doesnt stop the crew from surfing when there are waves.!!

I lived for many years in Portland on the very south west coast of Victoria. Off the coast is an Island called Lady Julia. The fishermen always said there was a local shark out there that was longer than their boats..it was resident there I believe (or the family was)

I have no problem with sharks..swam in the waters there for many years. The waters were so thick with other food I guess the sharks weren't that hungry.

But...one day a friend and I were swimming out on our daily swim and I had a 'funny feeling' I felt like something had come up behind me really fast and then turned away at the last minute. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I said to my friend "I dont want to panic you but I think there is a shark in the water"

Well my friend did a Jesus Christ act and broke the olympic record for getting to the beach...I quickly (very quickly) did breast stroke to the beach which I might add looked ages away. We got back to the beach safely. I went home and was talking to my hubby about it and he was pretty concerned (being a die hard fisherman) In the early morning my hubby came home and told me they caught an 8 foot white pointer just where we had been swimming !!

I felt pretty sorry for the shark. But as it was a popular swimming spot for the town, and he was still hanging around hours later I guess fair is fair. But I still felt sorry for the shark.

With all due respect, statistically...based on the facts here...this is not quite correct...EL...if you have been bitten once or twice, how many times have you been run over by a bus?

I took a couple of Wwoofers out fishing and snorkelling a few weeks back...we found a nice 15m drop off/wall and I was cruising along in the deep water when I saw a reef shark lazily cruise by 10m below ..I followed along until he seemed to become a bit agitated and changed direction by zipping up above the wall and heading along the reef flat in a bout 3m of water..after kicking along trying to keep up with him I saw that he was headed straight towards the female wwoofer..he went in quite fast and then just 3m from her veered off and returned to the deeper water once more ...the male wwoofer jumped back in the boat soon after as the shark attacked and killed a fish close to him..he panicked and bolted..lol ..
Later on the female wwoofer mentioned that she was menstruating and had just pee'd in the water not long prior to the shark investigating her...

Hmmm...There might be something in that for the ladies to take on board...

He said you would have more chance of being KILLED by a shark than being run over by a bus..he has only had a couple of nips...anyone that has speared or fished the GBR or elsewhere will have been hasseled by sharks to some degree...mostly however they are just after your catch..I still dont trust the big Tigers and Hammers though...

I guess EmaraldLecky was lucky that 8ft Tiger only bit him on the Calf. A bit higher up on the thigh and a severed femoral artery out on the GBR would have a lineball survival scenario unfolding. I reckon I would prefer to get hit by a bus than bleed out on the back of your mates tinnie as he races you the 50kms to the nearest hospital.

Scarey thought that. I have been spearfishing up here over the last few years in the Nwest and it scares the crap out of me some days. Some places just seem a little isolated and sharkey not to mention croccy up on the peninsula. One trip up near Middle lagoon we kayaked around to out favorite camping spot and had a 4m tiger shark swim past and circle us twice before moving on. 20 min utes before that I was in the water. I havn't been back to that spot since even though I know it has the biggest Coral Trout and Bluebone just sitting there for the taking.

I took my 10 yr old son on his first open water scuba dives at the reef last week..
was surprised at how fearless he was around the reef sharks..dont know whether thats a good or a bad thing..he also found a monster moray eel and wanted to get some pilchards and hand feed it...maybe next time son..

Caught a 6ft bronze whaler on the beach Christmas weekend near Esperance, took 4 hours - Didn't realise they could swing their head so far behind them..

Have learned lesson.

Sharks are pretty cool when you are swimming with them. Having dived all over the world I have had many encounters including a swim by from a 3.5m Hammerhead. Carying dead fish when diving or spear fishing makes them look at you a bit differently as you have food. Just like a dog looking at your snag. Some dogs are gentle and some go beyond the snag and get your fingers. Moray eels are almost blind and when you feed them they often cant tell where the fish ends and your fingers start. Be carefull if you intend to feed them.

If you are going to feed a moray keep your fingers and thumbs as close together as possible.

Thanks for the advice...my missus would never forgive me if I bought our 10 yr old back from a moray feeding session and had to re-name him stumpy.

This made me chuckle. Maybe your new name would be 'Lumpy' - after being bopped on the head for bringing your son home re-modelled.
So....the new family photo could be tagged Mrs. Grumpy (no disrespects to your wife ), Mr. Lumpy and Master Stumpy.
......ok, that was a bit silly....

Sharks again hitting the headlines in WA. Another fatality off the Swest with a 33yo fella cray fishing from his boat taken by what is thought to be a 4metre great white. That is now the 4th fatal attack in the region over the last 7 months. Those numbers just seem too high. I spoke to someone about shark attacks today and he was saying that he read a report on shark attacks over the last 12 months and worldwide there have been 5 fataliltes, 4 of which were in SWest WA.

Edit, Just found this article which has WA now the world's deadliest shark attack region.

WA DEEMED WORLDS DEADLIEST

He was not actually taken was he. I thought they got his body back. Problem with a shark is they don't have hands. When they make the descision to see what you are they only have one way of doing it. A little grab in the mouth(or a big grab if they are in a feisty mood).
4 in 7 months is certainly a bad run though. Gotta feel for the victim and those affected.
However I do get sick and tired of the calls to kill the shark(as if they would know which it was).
It's not as though you hear everyone calling for all trees to be cut down when someone is killed by a falling branch.

Yeah they got him back. I heard somewhere seals had been seen in the area in the days/weeks leading up to the attack which you kind of expect along alot of that coast. I am not sure if he was wearing a wetsuit but no doubt the Shark may have thought he was a seal and went in for a surprise attack.

I understand that black wetsuits are used for a reason ie attracting sun and warmth whilst in the water but it must confuse the buggery out of those sharks to suddenly see a black object freediving/diving for crays right in front of it. I wonder if the initial brain response and reaction of a shark would be different if divers wore different coloured wetsuits, red, yellow, light blue, hot pink (lol). Sharks know what their prey looks like and they are usually pretty good at getting it. Why make yourself look like their prey.

Another possibility may be the distress noise that a crayfish could make when being handled and the attraction of nearby predators to investigate. I remember once we went fishing but we had no bait so I snorkelled out and harrassed an octopus with a spear. The noise that thing made under water drew every big NWEST snapper in a 500m radius towards the distressed octopus. It was amazing to see. The same as when you spear a fish everything comes in for a look. Wouldnt be nice though for a 4 metre hungry great white to be the thing that comes in for a look.

Great whites freak me out. I have gotten used to Tiger sharks and hammerheads and feel OK near them but the big whites just sit that higher up on the amazing predator scale that I dont want to be in the water with.

Knee jerk human reaction is to destroy something that causes death. In this case the hunt would more than likely be pretty pointless as the shark that bit him was probably 30 klms away by the end of that day and a couple of hundred away the next day.

If you dress like a lettuce and lie down in a field expect to be eaten by a rabbit, same thing in the water
dress like prey expect to be treated as by sharks.