Shark Attack Press Releases

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- South Australian authorities have said they will kill a shark that tore apart a young surfer near a popular city beach as his friends reportedly tried to save him by beating the animal with oars. The South Australia state government's acting leader Kevin Foley said a single 5-meter (16-foot) great white shark was believed responsible for the savage attack on 18-year-old Nick Peterson. Earlier, authorities said they thought two sharks were involved. Although great whites are a protected species, Foley said the government would destroy the shark because it was a threat to swimmers. "The government's position is quite clear," Foley told reporters. "Any large shark, in close proximity to the beaches of our state, particularly the city of Adelaide, should be destroyed. Officers are authorized to take whatever necessary action to ensure the destruction of a shark posing risk." Adelaide is the state capital of South Australia and home to around 1 million people.
Rescuers on Friday found what they believed to be human remains in waters close to where Peterson was killed, South Australia's Sea Rescue Squadron spokesman Fraser Bell said. The teenager was attacked after he fell from his surfboard while it was being towed behind a motor boat Thursday at West Beach, close to Adelaide. His friends pounded the shark with oars in an attempt to make it release Peterson, The Australian newspaper reported, citing witnesses. The shark ripped the young man apart, Bell told reporters. "Apparently it tore him in half," he said. Two 16-year-old boys who witnessed the attack were receiving medical treatment for shock. Despite the attack, West Beach was not closed, though police warned swimmers to stay within limits patrolled by lifeguards. Several people visited the beach early Friday, media reported, but very few ventured into the water despite warm weather and calm seas perfect for swimming. A group of Peterson's friends held hands as they walked across the sand. The fatal shark attack was the third in recent months in Australian waters.
A 38-year-old man was killed by a shark while spearing fish on the Great Barrier Reef off northeast Australia on Saturday. And two sharks attacked and killed a 29-year-old surfer off the Australian west coast in July. Experts said at the time said that sharks were not known to hunt in pairs. Keeper of Australia's national Shark Attack File and operations manager at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, John West, said attacks would always occur in Australian waters and that the number of attacks did not appear to be on the rise. He said it was uncommon for the victim to be eaten. "Being killed and then eaten by a shark is not common at all. Most shark attacks relate to a single bite and a majority of them are let go," West told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

SYDNEY (Dec. 11) - A fisherman who screamed for help as a shark mauled him at a popular tourist spot on Australia's Great Barrier Reef on Saturday died before onlookers could pull him to safety, police said.The 38-year-old Australian man was spearfishing about 60 km (40 miles) off Port Douglas on the northeast coast in an area known to tourist charter boat operators as Opal Reef when the unknown species of shark attacked, a police spokeswoman said. "His two mates in a nearby boat heard screaming coming from the water, then saw him surrounded by a pool of blood," the spokeswoman told Reuters.
"He died before a rescue helicopter could get to him." His companions eventually managed to pull him back on deck after the shark disappeared but he died a short time later from serious injuries, she said. Thousands of tourists visit the Port Douglas stretch of the Barrier Reef each year, including in the past former U.S. president Bill Clinton. Shark attacks in the region were rare, as most sharks inhabiting the waters were regarded as harmless, the spokeswoman said.12/11/04 05:48 ET

Tyna Webb, 77, loved nothing more than to slice through the blue sea off Jager's Walk in Fish Hoek, but on Monday her daily jaunt turned to horror when a large shark, believed to be a Great White, took her in its jaws.

On Monday at about 7am André Mentor, 48, was on the mountainside acting as a spotter for the local fishing crew when he saw the shark attack Webb.

"Every morning this woman swims the backstroke, but this morning as she was swimming the shark came to inspect and although we screamed and waved the flag trying to warn her, the shark got hold of her," Mentor said.

Other witnesses on the hill saw the shark speed towards Webb and attack her, then the sea around her fill with blood.

They said the shark had then headed out to sea and she might still have been in its jaws.

Webb's son-in-law Thomas Spies, a local doctor, was at the scene just after 8am.

Spies, who was the first family member on the scene, did not want to discuss his emotions on Monday.

By Monday afternoon, several hours after the attack, Webb's body had still not been recovered and the family prepared themselves for the worst.

While Webb's daughters Isabelle Spies and Ninky Matthee drank tea in the kitchen of the Spieses' Noordhoek home and friends dropped by to offer their condolences, police divers and National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) helicopters continued to comb the area where Webb was attacked.

NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said: "Tyna Webb is presumed dead at this stage and I think her family has come to terms with that."

An eyewitness to a presumed Great White shark attack along the False Bay coastline on Monday morning described how the shark circled its prey and tore into an elderly female bather.

"All that was left was a little red bathing cap," said False Bay Yacht Club rear commodore Paul Dennett, who witnessed the attack from his home, about 100m from where the bloodied water was dissipating.

Dennett said that at about 7am he saw a lot of thrashing in the water, about 20m off the shoreline of Fish Hoek Beach.

He went outside and saw the shark attacking something, which he initially suspected was a seal.

"I then saw the shark circle around the victim... and then in just one big mouth, and not even breaching the water, took her in," said Dennett.

Dennett said in all his life he had never seen a shark as big, estimating it to be at least six metres long.

His fiance and her daughter, who also witnessed the attack, were traumatised and receiving counselling.

Dennett said that during the attack they screamed to other bathers enjoying their ritual early morning swim to get out of the water.

Meanwhile, a Metro emergency helicopter sent to the scene of the shark attack returned to base without locating the pensioner, aged either 76 or 77.

National Sea Rescue Institute and other emergency service personnel were still at the scene.

NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said a full scale search was under way for the woman.

Lambinon said a shark had been spotted in the vicinity of Clovelly, near Fish Hoek.

Lambinon said the woman had been identified, but her name would not be released until her next of kin was informed.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A great white shark estimated to be at least 18 feet long attacked and presumably killed an elderly South African woman Monday off a beach near Cape Town, officials said. Tyna Webb, 77, who lived in the area, was swimming Monday off Sunny Cove in Fish Hoek (search) when the massive shark circled her and then attacked, witnesses and officials said. About 15 people witnessed the attack."All that was left was a little red bathing cap," said Paul Dennett, who witnessed the attack from his home nearby.Dennett told the South African Press Association that he estimated the shark to be at least 18 feet long.Rescue workers were using boats and aircraft to search for the woman's body."All efforts to find the lady have been exhausted by a wide and thorough search. We are hoping that police divers will be successful in their efforts," Darren Zimmerman of the National Sea Rescue Institute (search) told the South African Press Association. Crews later spotted the shark. Great whites often are seen in the area feeding off the large seal population.

The shark is bigger than the helicopter ... it is huge," institute spokesman Craig Lambinon told SAPA.

Law enforcement officials advised people not to swim along the Cape of Good Hope (search).

A 16-year-old surfer lost his right leg in an April attack by a great white shark in the same area.

As a shark tour operator one was often injured on a boat, Andre Hartman said after a baby Great White shark bit him on the foot at the weekend.

"If you play with blades you are likely to get cut, but it's only a scratch and it happens all the time. I've been cut on my finger a few times and this is the same," said Hartman.

"While I was talking to a tourist from the Czech Republic I was dangling my right foot over the side of the boat and was bitten by a baby white shark."

"They were just taking nice pictures and no one was watching. My foot was dangling above the water when the shark arrived," said Hartman.

He said he had turned his head for a few seconds when the two-metre shark took a bite at his foot.

"They don't really see the bait and go for the smell and my foot was there. It was my own fault, but I suffered only three puncture holes," said Hartman.

An Oahu man who was attacked by a shark while spearfishing off Molokai says he doubted he could survive because he lost so much blood.

Davy Sanada was transferred Monday to Queen's Medical Center, where he will undergo surgery to repair a severe injury to his left shoulder. He was reported in stable condition before leaving Maui Memorial Hospital.

Sanada, 34, a Pearl Harbor pipefitter, was free diving alone in shallow water outside Kupeke Fishpond on Molokai when he was attacked just after noon Saturday.

After rescuers stabilized him at the site, Sanada was airlifted to the Maui hospital.

Sanada said he was swimming back to shore when the shark "came out of nowhere" and bit him. "Something had me, then I started flailing away at it," he said.

Sanada said he stood up after the shark let go, and saw his blood spreading in the water around him. When he saw the shark coming back, he started hitting it with his spear gun and the shark swam away.

After the attack, Sanada said he pulled his wet suit over his shoulder to halt the bleeding and headed for shore.

"I must have been 200 yards offshore," he said. "I had lost a lot of blood. I was getting dizzy. It was an ordeal, but I was yelling for help, and nobody was responding."

Finally, resident Carol Beadle heard him, called 911 and then paddled out to him in a kayak. She took him to the rock wall of the fishpond, where a friend, a former firefighter, helped him until paramedics and firefighters arrived.

Sanada said he believes the shark, which rescuers estimated to be 12 feet long, was attracted by his bag of speared fish about 30 feet behind him.

"I'm missing a small chunk of my shoulder," he said, adding that it's unclear if he will regain full use of his arm. He also said he's not sure if he will go diving again.

He said he has seen sharks while free diving elsewhere, and they have never approached him.

"If I see a shark, I give them all the room in the world," he said. "We respect each other. You've got to realize that's their domain and give them all the respect."

State Shark Task Force member John Naughton said it is unusual for a shark to attack a swimmer midday in shallow water, but said the fish Sanada had caught probably attracted the shark.

The attack was the first off Molokai since 1992 and the second this year in Hawaiian waters. On April 7, surfer Willis McInnis, 57, was killed by a shark in murky water off Kahana on Maui.

The waters off two beaches along the Point Reyes National Seashore are closed to swimmers and waders until at least Friday, after a shark attacked a surfer there Sunday morning.

The victim, who was not identified, was sitting with his legs dangling off his surfboard about 200 yards offshore in an area between Limantour and Drakes beaches, when the shark bit him on the leg around 9:30 a.m., according to park ranger John Golda. The surfer spun around and managed to hit the shark near its eye with his elbow, and it swam away.

"He made it back to shore on his board and got to his cell phone and called 911,'' Golda said. An hour later, the surfer was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, with injuries to his lower leg that did not appear to be life-threatening.

Golda said the victim was apparently out with some friends, but the friends already had left the beach area when the attack occurred.

The victim was able to tell authorities only that the shark appeared to be 6 to 8 feet long, which was not enough detail for park officials to say whether it was a great white, the species most commonly associated with attacks off the California coast.

"There's been a lot of speculation (about the kind of shark), but nobody is positive yet what it was,'' Golda said.

The incident is at least the fourth shark attack this year along the coast. In May, a Windsor man surfing near Bodega Bay managed to fight off a great white shark during a prolonged battle. And in July and again last week, authorities in San Luis Obispo Counties posted warnings at Pismo and Avila beaches -- where a woman was killed last year by a shark -- after two separate incidents.

In the July incident, a shark knocked a teenager off his surfboard. In last week's attack, a suspected great white shark bit a surfer's board and knocked him into the water, bumping into the surfer's side as the surfer paddled away.

In August, a Auburn man diving for abalone off the coast of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County was killed in a shark attack.

Most recently, authorities closed the waters off Stinson Beach for a week and a half in early September following shark sightings from both land and air.

"It's a very rare occurrence -- I've never heard of an attack in Drakes Bay before,'' he said. However, he said an abalone diver was attacked at the mouth of nearby Tomales Bay in 1996.

Golda said, if anything, more sharks should be around in the coming months, as they follow the migration of elephant seals who come to breed during the winter.

The National Park Service will be on the lookout for more sharks, Golda said. If none is sighted, the park service expects to reopen the waters to swimmers, waders and surfers Friday.

A surfer was bitten by a shark off the Northern California coast Sunday, prompting park officials to close beaches near the site of the attack, authorities said.

The shark bit the leg of the unidentified surfer just off Limantour Beach, about 50 miles north of San Francisco, according to park officials at Point Reyes National Seashore.

The man told authorities the shark, which was between six and eight feet long, released his leg after he hit it on the head. The surfer then paddled to shore on his own, park officials said.

The surfer was taken by helicopter to a Santa Rosa hospital for treatment of injuries to his lower leg.

Park officials closed the waters off Limantour Beach and adjoining Drakes Beach for five days. The beaches will be reopened if no more shark sightings are reported.

Sightings of great white sharks are common near Point Reyes in the fall when seal lions, elephant seals and harbor seals visit the area. The last shark attack along the national seashore occurred in 1996.

Cliff Zimmerman was only three feet away from Randy Fry, his old friend and diving partner, when he heard a noise and felt the pressure of something big moving by.

It was a shark, and it came out of nowhere, it came fast, and it killed his partner.

"I heard a noise, like 'whoosh,' like a submarine, like a boat going by fast. It was a shark,'' Zimmerman said. "I knew it was a shark. It almost brushed me. I saw its dorsal fin. I don't know what kind it was; all I know is, it was big. Big. It was big enough to kill.''

The shark struck Fry, and suddenly, Zimmerman said, the water was filled with blood. "It was massive,'' Zimmerman said "I was yelling and yelling, but I knew from the amount of blood that it was fatal.

It was over in an instant; no one saw the shark again, and no one saw Fry again. All this happened on Sunday afternoon, in water 15 feet to 20 feet deep, just 150 feet from the shore of a cove used by lumber schooners years ago, a place noted for abalone beds.

"It was terrible,'' Zimmerman said Monday, a day after the attack. "I almost had a heart attack myself. It could have been me.''

It was near Kibesillah Rock on the Mendocino coast just north of Fort Bragg. The sea was calm, and the weather was sunny and beautiful. Perfect for prying abalone off the rocks.

No one had ever seen a shark there before, and the Coast Guard said there had been no reports of shark attacks in that area. There have been 106 shark attacks on humans in the last 50 or so years on the California coast, 10 of them fatal, according to the Department of Fish and Game. The last fatal attack happened last year near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County when a great white shark killed a college teacher out for a morning swim. But Avila Beach is more than 350 miles south of Fort Bragg.

"I never heard of a fatality on this coast,'' said Zimmerman, who lives in Fort Bragg. "A nibble, maybe, a nip, but never nothing like this. Never a full-bore attack.''

The Coast Guard searched until dark Sunday, and on Monday morning they found a body in the ocean nearby.

Though the Mendocino County coroner still has not made a formal identification, Zimmerman is sure it was Fry. "I was right there,'' he said, "I saw it.''

Jim Martin, another diver from the nearby town of Caspar, identified the body by the wetsuit it was wearing. Fry always wore a distinct wet suit; it had his name on it. Martin knew Fry well, he said.

Zimmerman said that Fry always had a hunch about a shark. "Randy and I talked about it many times,'' Zimmerman said, "He said, 'I think a shark will get me sometime.' " It's common banter among abalone divers.

Zimmerman and Fry were old friends and old diving partners. They dived together 30 years, and they swam side by side. They understood each other well and had taken precautions, Zimmerman said. They dived off a 28-foot fishing boat and had someone watching for anything in the water, like sharks. They also kept an eye out for seals and sea lions, which are often prey for sharks. They saw nothing.

They were free diving, using wet suits, masks, fins and snorkel but no air tanks.

Randall Fry was 50, and the ocean was his life. He loved fishing and diving. It was his hobby, his passion and his career. He was the western regional director for the Recreational Fishing Alliance, a group that organized fishing people and lobbied political bodies. He brought together recreational fishers and commercial fishermen, who in the past had been bitter enemies.

"Randy was really instrumental in organizing recreational anglers,'' said Sonke Mastrup, deputy director of the Wildlife and Inland Fisheries division of the state Department of Fish and Game.

"He was a uniter,'' said Bob Franko, president of the Coastside Fishing Club, based in El Granda in San Mateo County. "He loved fishing and he loved the ocean.

"He will surely be remembered,'' Franko said, "I don't know if he can ever be replaced.''

Fry lived in the Auburn area not far from Sacramento, but his friends said he traveled most of the time on behalf of his fishing interests.

"He loved the ocean so much,'' said Franko. "It was tragic and ironic he would go this way.''

Russian diver Vladimir Skutelnik was rushed to hospital after suffering serious shark bites to his thigh and calf. He was using a fishing net and managed to deflect the shark by entangling it.

The incident happened in the Pacific Kunashir island, in the far east of Russia, north of Japan.

The diver claimed that a great white shark attacked him at depth, and that he fought it off with his fishing net. He suffered serious injuries to his leg, and was also treated for decompression sickness at a hospital in Yuzhno Kurilsk.

It is believed to be the first reported shark attack in Russian waters as there are no recorded reports of shark attacks in Russia on the International Shark Attack File website.

Experts believe that the shark involved is unlikely to have been a great white, but more likely to have been a blue shark or salmon shark, both of which are more common in the north Pacific.

The shark is likely to have been attracted by the fish caught in the diver's net. Shark attacks on divers are very rare, and the majority involve divers who are fishing, usually with a speargun

FREEPORT, Texas -- An 11-year-old boy was in guarded condition Sunday night at a Houston hospital after firefighters say he was bitten on the arm and leg by a shark at Bryan Beach on the Gulf of Mexico.

The boy, whose name was not released, was flown by helicopter to Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital. Amy Berryman, operations administrator, said his condition was being evaluated in the emergency room.

The attack occurred about 8 p.m. as the boy was fishing for trout with his family, Fire Marshal Chris Motley told The Facts for a story in its Monday editions. Motley said the boy was carrying a bag of fish when he was bitten three times -- once on the right arm, and above and below his right knee.

Authorities are hunting a five-metre shark which killed a 29-year-old surfer at a West Australian surfing beach.

The victim - Bradley Adrian Smith, of Shoalwater, 41km south of Perth - was surfing with a mate and three other people at Left Handers beach, south of Gracetown, near Margaret River, yesterday when he was knocked off his board and mauled by the shark.

Two teenagers who pulled Mr Smith from the water said the shark was "as big as a car".

Witnesses to the attack have told Sky News a man swam to shore and called 000 saying his mate had been attacked by a shark.

The attack at Left Handers beach - considered a relatively safe beach for junior surfers - is the second in WA in almost four years.

Fisheries officials were given permission to kill the shark, believed to have been a white pointer up to four metres in length, but they never found it.

In response to the 2000 attack, the WA government introduced daily summer aerial shark patrols.

Several other shark attacks have occurred along WA's coastline since then, but the fatality yesterday was the first since Mr Crew died.

Police and fisheries officers today boarded a search vessel to hunt for the shark which took the 29-year-old.

Fisheries officer Tony Cappelluti said if the shark was located, officers were authorised to kill it.

"If they're going to become a danger to the public, or if we believe they already have been responsible for a fatal or serious attack, then I think the community would expect us to try to alleviate that risk," he told ABC radio.

Local surfer Bart Mulder said yesterday's attack was distressing but it would not stop him surfing.

"We were going to go down to the beach for a surf and a couple of blokes came up and said 'Don't go down there - somebody's been bitten in half by a shark'," he told the ABC. "It's the first shark fatality down in the south-west here. It's hard to say how I feel about it, but it won't stop me surfing."

Shark attacks 8-year-old boy in shallow water

From staff reports
DAYTONA BEACH SHORES -- An 8-year-old Kentucky boy was bitten by a 4-foot shark while swimming behind a condominium, officials said.
The boy, who was not identified, was swimming in 3 to 4 feet of ocean water with his father, said Sgt. Mike Fowler of the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety.
The boy's left hand and part of his left arm were inside the shark's mouth, and he suffered cuts on both hands, Fowler said.
The boy's father said he saw the creature swim between them shortly before the attack on Thursday, Fowler said.
The boy was in good condition when he was taken to Halifax Medical Center, said Mark O'Keefe, a paramedics spokesman.

A 16-year-old Magnolia boy was wading with his father off Pirates' Beach in Galveston about 7:45 p.m. Saturday when he was bitten on the leg by a 3- to 4-foot-long shark.
Paramedics dressed Ryan Eckstrum's wounds after he was taken to a lifeguard station. He was later treated at UTMB.
Maceo could recall only three other confirmed shark bite incidents during the 20 years he has patrolled Galveston's beaches. He doesn't believe the shark targeted Eckstrum and said there was no cause for panic from the public.
"I can sit here and say it was a small shark because it didn't happen to me," Maceo said. "I'm certainly not making light of the bite."
Eckstrum might have been bitten because he was wading in area with nearby bait fish.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Sharks attacked beachgoers in two separate incidents in a northeastern resort city over the weekend, rescue workers said Monday.

On Saturday night, a shark attacked a 24-year-old woman as she was wading off Piedade beach in Recife, about 1,850 kilometers (1,150 miles) northeast of Rio de Janeiro.

She sustained wounds to her legs and buttocks, but her life was not in danger, firefighters said.

On Sunday, a 17-year-old boy was attacked while swimming near the same beach. He lost his left hand, foot and part of his leg in the attack and remained in serious condition following the attack, according to firefighters.

The attacks were the fourth and fifth shark attacks in Recife since the beginning of the year.

Since 1996, 49 people have been attacked by sharks in the waters off Recife; 14 of those attacks have been fatal.

State officials were meeting with shark specialists Monday to discuss what measures could be taken to prevent further attacks.

Surfing and swimming further than a couple of meters (yards) from shore are already prohibited and signs along the 72-kilometer (45-mile)-long coastal strip around the city of Recife warn bathers of shark attacks.

But officials considered the attacks over the weekend especially worrisome because they occurred close to shore.

Until this weekend's attacks, the victims were mostly surfers who were surfing beyond a large coral reef that lines most of the city's beaches.

Most of the attacks are carried out by tiger and hammerhead sharks who feed near the reef, specialists say.

Willis McInnis, 57, of Kahana was attacked about 300 yards off Kahana beach on Maui’s western shoreline and was helped out of the water, but died at the beach despite efforts by bystanders, police and paramedics, authorities said.

Police received a call about a surfer in distress about 7:08 a.m. at S-turns, a surf spot fronting the Noelani Condominium Resort in Kahana.

Police reported that the victim suffered injuries to his right leg that were consistent with a shark bite.

The 57-year-old man suffered severe lacerations to his upper right thigh and mid-calf, police said.

A witness saw the victim turning back out to sea after missing a wave when the attack occurred.

On Nov. 5, 1992, Aaron Romento was killed by a shark while bodyboarding off Keeau Beach Park in Leeward Oahu.

Surfer killed in shark attack

A shark killed a surfer today off the coast of Maui, the first deadly shark attack in Hawaii in several years.

Willis McInnis, 57, was helped out of the water, but died on the shore despite rescue efforts by beachgoers, police and paramedics. He was bitten in the leg and suffered severe blood loss, police Captain Charles Hirata said.

"It has to be a fairly good size shark to do that damage," said Randy Honebrink, spokesman for the Shark Task Force of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

One witness told police the surfer missed catching a wave, turned back out and was paddling when the attack occurred. He was attacked about 275 metres off Kahana beach on Maui's western shoreline.

Only four shark attacks were reported in Hawaii last year, including one in October off the island of Kauai that took the left arm of top amateur surfer Bethany Hamilton, then 13.

The last confirmed shark attack death in Hawaii was in 1992 when 18-year-old surfer Aaron Romento of Pearl City was attacked off West Oahu.

Honebrink said there was an average of about four shark attacks off the Hawaiian Islands every year. He said tiger sharks were the most common.

"They do feed an awful lot at things at the surface," Honebrink said. "They have a nonspecific diet, they'll eat just about anything."

Authorities will try to determine the type of shark in today's attack by studying the victim's bite marks.

Four exhausted Tongan fishermen fought off man-eating fish - thought to be small sharks - and hypothermia as they clung to a makeshift raft for nearly eight hours in rough seas.

They were finally rescued in the dark after flashing a torch at a rescue vessel, but a fifth crew member was not so lucky.

After a bite to his upper arm, the 44-year-old man died within a couple of hours of their fishing boat sinking on Tuesday about 50 kilometres northwest of Nuku'alofa, the capital of Tonga.

His friends tied his body onto a raft they had roped together out of plastic 20-gallon diesel containers and buoys.

It was still hours before a Tongan Navy patrol boat would find the men in the dark, downwind of co-ordinates provided by the National Rescue Coordination Centre in Wellington after a tip-off from an Air New Zealand plane flying over Tonga.

The pilots had reported a distress signal to the Tonga Tower at Fua'amotu Airport, which passed the information to Wellington, where the emergency beacon co-ordinates were soon confirmed by satellite.

The 10m wooden fishing boat Tu'amelie ki Moana had set out from Tongatapu island on Monday in search of big catches above the sea mountains off its western tip.

But after a good haul on Tuesday disaster struck when a rogue wave picked up the vessel and dumped it into the sea.

Lieutenant Siau Fifita, of the Tongan Navy, told the Herald yesterday that the men had immediately realised they were in trouble.

"They had been heading towards the wind at high speed. The crash stopped the engine and the first thing they thought was the bilge [pump], but the bottom of the boat was already filled. They said it sank very, very quickly."

Mr Fifita said the crew managed to set off the Epirb (Emergency position indicating radiobeacon) and grabbed anything that was by then floating, including the torch that would save them.

Most people spoken to yesterday said the fish had been young sharks less than a metre long. But Mafi Taukitoku, who is in charge of the fishing boat, told a local journalist that the fish were not sharks, but small fish unknown to them.

Mr Fifita said one of the crew had been bitten under the arm by a small shark and later died, possibly from shock. Another man had been repeatedly bitten on his feet, legs, back and stomach by sharks, less than a metre long.

Mr Fifita said he was notified of a possible stranded vessel at about 4pm (New Zealand time) on Tuesday with the go-ahead from Tongan police to leave Nuku'alofa on the Navy patrol boat Voea Savea at 6pm.

The patrol started searching from estimated drift position and was "very lucky" to find the survivors on the trajectory path, he said.

Mr Fifita said it was especially incredible given the difficult conditions - four to six-metre waves and poor visibility in the dark and drizzle - and that the fishing crew were low in the water.

"It was very dangerous to lower the inflatable boat ... very, very risky to pick them up."

Mr Fifita said the injured man was "nearly dead" and another two were extremely weak and would not have survived much longer.

A snorkeller died of blood loss after being bitten by a shark in Coral Bay, Sharm, Egypt at the weekend.

The Egyptian man was snorkelling close to shore with a group of holiday-makers on Saturday 14 February when the attack happened.

The injured man made it back to shore and was taken to hospital where he later died of shock due to blood loss.

Shark attack victim still critical

CAPE TOWN - The condition of the 16-year-old surfer, whose leg was bitten off by a shark at Muizenberg Beach near here on Monday, remained critical but stable yesterday afternoon.

Hospital spokeswoman Gail Ross said Andrew was being kept deeply sedation because he was on a ventilator.

"His body has been through enormous trauma, so we will have to wait and see how he reacts," she said.

National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Ian Klopper said on Monday that Andrew was surfing with a group of friends when he was bitten by the shark just before 2pm.

Andrew's friends helped him to shore and lifesavers carried out cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Paramedics then took him to the hospital.

"The conditions were exactly the same as those at Noordhoek during the last attack there... glassy, small waves. Lifesavers warned surfers about the shark, which was spotted yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. It is about five or five-and-a-half metres long." - Sapa

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 06 April 2004: - - Update 01h30 CET: A 16-year-old surfer died after being attacked by a shark off Muizenberg Beach near Cape Town on Monday. John Paul "JP" Andrew, 16, a Grade 11 pupil at Reddam House in Steenberg has been identified as the victim

National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Ian Klopper said the boy had been surfing with a group of friends when he was bitten by a great white shark just before 2 pm (1200 GMT). "His board was broken in half and his right leg was amputated,"Klopper said.

The boy´s friends helped him to shore and lifesavers carried out CPR. Paramedics then rushed him to the Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic, where doctor attempted to resuscitate him for over an hour before he died. Klopper did not know if the teenager´s parents were aware of the attack. "The conditions were exactly the same as those at Noordhoek during the last attack there... glassy, small waves."

Lifesavers were warning surfers about the shark, which was spotted on Sunday afternoon. It is about five or five-and-a-half meters long.

Klopper said the scene at the beach was one of shock and dismay."This is certainly the first time in my memory that a surfer has been killed by a shark at Muizenberg. You would think it would happen all the time with Seal Island being so close by... but this is the first fatal attack I know of," he said. Source http://news.xinhuanet.com---gotta watch the reports--this was posted wed...

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 06 April 2004: - - Update 20h30 CET: A 16-year-old surfer remained in critical but stable condition on Tuesday afternoon after being attacked by a shark off Muizenberg Beach near Cape Town on Monday. John Paul "JP" Andrew, 16, a Grade 11 pupil at Reddam House in Steenberg has been identified as the victim

An earlier report from http://news.xinhuanet.com around midnight last night reported the victim as having died. Two reports today from the reliable http://www.iol.co.za have subsequently indicated the victim has not died. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to anyone by the earlier inaccurate report, and are grateful to hear Paul Andrew has a chance to survive.

John Paul Andrew whose leg was bitten off by the shark, was rushed to the Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic after the attack. Hospital spokesperson Gail Ross said Andrew was being kept under deep sedation because he was on a ventilator. She did not know when he would be allowed to regain consciousness.

"His body has been through enormous trauma, so we will have to wait and see how he reacts," she said. "But he is young and strong and we are very positive."

Police have called off the search for a spear fisherman believed to have been the victim of a shark attack off Tweed Heads.

Inspector Ian Fitzsimmons of Byron Bay Police said there was little hope of finding alive 31-year-old Mark Bryant from Currumbin Waters on the Gold Coast.

Mr Bryant had been snorkelling with two friends yesterday morning but failed to surface after taking a final dive by himself at Friday Reef, near Cook Island.

"We've issued a local lookout for local marine radio for boaties who might be out in the area to just keep a lookout but at this stage it's gone from a local rescue to a recovery operation," Inspector Fitzsimmons told AAP.

Police believe Mr Bryant may have been taken by a shark because several large tiger sharks were sighted in the area.

The missing man's spear gun was retrieved with a fish on it leading to speculation the bleeding fish may have attracted a shark.

Man Walks For Help With Shark Attached To Leg

SYDNEY, Australia -- A man attacked by a shark while snorkeling had to swim back to shore, walk to his car, and then drive to a surf club for help -- with the shark still attached to his leg.

Lifeguards at a beach north of Sydney, were stunned when the man walked in with the two-foot carpet shark biting his leg, and refusing to let go.

He said, "I just realized I had to swim in like that, hanging on to it."

Once he reached the shore, people tried to help him but couldn't remove the shark. Lifeguards flushed its gills with fresh water, forcing it to loosen its grip. The man had 70 needle-like punctures.

The shark later died.

The yearly total of 55 unprovoked attacks was lower than the 63 unprovoked attacks recorded in the year 2002, 68 recorded in 2001, and 79 reported in 2000. Four fatalities occurred in 2003, a total similar to the three recorded in 2002 and four reported in 2001, but much lower than the 11 fatalities in 2000. The 41 attacks in United States territorial waters (including incidents in Hawaii, the Virgin Islands and Johnson Atoll) were less than the 2002 (47), 2001 (50) and 2000 (54) yearly figures. Elsewhere, attacks occurred in Australia (6), Brazil (2), South Africa (2), Fiji (1), India (1), Madagascar (1), and Venezuela (1).Florida (31) had most of the unprovoked attacks in the United States. This total also was lower than the 2002 (29), 2001 (34) and 2000 (37) average yearly figures. Additional U.S. attacks were recorded in Hawaii (4), South Carolina (3), California (1), the Virgin Islands (1), and Johnson Atoll (1). Within Florida, Volusia County had the most (14) incidents (down from 18 in 2002 and 22 in 2001), which largely is attributable to very high aquatic recreational utilization of its attractive waters by Florida residents and tourists, especially surfers. Other Florida counties having attacks in 2003 were Brevard (8), St. Johns (3), Martin (2), Palm Beach (2), Miami-Dade (1), and St. Lucie (1).

The yearly total of 60 unprovoked attacks was lower than the 72 unprovoked attacks recorded in the year 2001 and 85 in 2000. Three fatalities occurred in 2002, down from five in 2001 and 13 in 2000. The 5% fatality rate was significantly lower than the 1990's decade average of 13%. The three fatalities occurred in Australia (2) and Brazil (1).

As in recent years, the bulk (82%: 48 attacks) of incidents occurred in North American waters, including 47 from the United States and one in the Bahamas. The 47 attacks in the United States were less than the 2001 (53) and 2000 (54) yearly figures. Elsewhere, attacks occurred in Australia (6), Brazil (3), South Africa (2), and Costa Rica (1).

Following recent trends, Florida (29) had most of the unprovoked attacks in the United States. This total also was lower than the 2001 (37) and 2000 (38) yearly figures. Additional U.S. attacks were recorded in Hawaii (6), California (4), North Carolina (3), South Carolina (2), Oregon (1) and Texas (1). One attack occurred in offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Within Florida, Volusia County had the most (18) incidents (down from 22 in 2001), which largely is attributable to very high aquatic recreational utilization of its attractive waters by Florida residents and tourists, especially surfers. Other Florida counties having attacks in 2001 were Brevard (3), St. Johns (3), Broward (1), Franklin (1), Martin (1), Monroe (1), and Palm Beach (1).

Surfers (32 incidents: 56% of cases with victim activity information) were the recreational user groups most often subjected to shark attack in 2001. Other attacks involved swimmers/waders (22: 34%), and divers/snorkelers (4: 7%). One attack (2%) occurred during a water entry event.

Did I miss some? Help me update..email me and let me know where it happened.

Stats/Maps	See Attack Graph		From July 2000 (archive)	'Summer of Shark' 2001 Archives' 2002 archive 2003 archives
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The horror, the horror	It's good to be alive
Foot and Mouth: Monk tries to kick the habit
Monday 11 October, 2004
JEFFREY’S BAY (ECN) -- An East London surfer was attacked by what appears to have been a Ragged Tooth shark at one of South Africa’s premier surf spots, Supertubes in Jeffrey’s Bay, early on the morning of Saturday 9 October. Six-time South African champion surfer Wayne Monk, 34, had just kicked out of a wave when he was hit from below by the shark. 'It grabbed my foot and pulled me down,' said Monk, who now surfs competitively for Border. 'When I came back up and looked down, I saw this big brown thing underneath me.' Ragged Tooth sharks can grow to about ten metres, and are considered reasonably passive by many shark experts. 'I’m lucky. If it had been a Great White, I wouldn’t have a foot,' said Monk. The plucky surfer kicked at the shark and screamed at a fellow surfer who was in the water nearby, 'I’m being attacked!' Monk evaded his fishy attacker when another wave came by and washed him onto some rocks. Monk was unable to find a doctor to treat his injuries in Jeffrey’s Bay. The attack happened at 7:30 in the morning. 'I went to the hospital in Humansdorp [about twenty minutes out of Jeffrey’s Bay] and got my foot bandaged up.' 'If it had been a bad accident, I would have been in trouble.' Monk was in Jeffrey’s Bay with his wife, celebrating their ten year wedding anniversary. 'Hey, at least we’re never going to forget our anniversary,' Monk laughed. – ECN

Surfer killed by shark off Maui is identified

Surfer killed in shark attack

Shark attack victim still critical

Man Walks For Help With Shark Attached To Leg