Monday, January 16, 2006

GIANT SHARK WATCH

CDNN :: Great White Shark Attacks Scuba Diver off Perth Australia

A Perth diver has told how a white pointer shark "chomped" on his arm before the monster took him for a terrifyingly brief "ride".
Bernie Williams, 46, was bitten on the left elbow after the predator grabbed him from behind as he was scuba diving about 3km offshore from City Beach.
The attack happened at about 11am (WST) on Sunday.
Mr Williams fought off the three- to 3.5-metre white pointer by striking it with his spear gun.
The electrician, an experienced diver, has told how he was diving with two friends when the shark appeared from nowhere.
"It just came out on my left hand side from below," Mr Williams, of the northern Perth beachside suburb of Sorrento, told Network Ten.
"I never even saw it coming.
"(It) chomped on my arm (and) took me for a ride for about two metres."
The father of three said that as soon as he spotted the shark he stabbed it in the nose with his spear gun.
"It was just like hitting a lump of steel," Mr Williams said from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital where he is recovering.
He said his first instinct had been to hide among a reef and search for his friends and his boat.

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New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz: Massive shark seen patrolling Taranaki coast

Shark fever has hit Taranaki, with multiple reports of encounters with what is thought to be a great white giant.
On Friday, a great white estimated to be at least five metres long spent about 20 minutes circling a New Plymouth couple fishing off Oakura.
The following day a kayaker got the shock of his life when a big shark circled him off White Cliffs.
And there are further reports of fishermen's encounters with a big shark between Oakura and New Plymouth.
Experts believe the great white encountered off Oakura may be the same monster that badly damaged commercial fishing nets in the area last summer � and may even be the fish that terrified a group of anglers by lunging into their boat off Motunui the previous summer.
"It most probably is the same shark," said New Plymouth commercial fisherman Rob Ansley, who lost a lot of gear last year.
"I had thought that the great white caught off Raglan in October might have been the shark. That one was a monster that weighed a tonne and half.
"But it looks like our one is still around."
New Plymouth couple Howard and Tara Okey were fishing from their boat west of Oakura on Friday when the big shark arrived and spent the next 20 minutes circling their vessel.
The couple's boat is 6.5m long, and they say the shark was not much smaller.
"It would have been no smaller than five metres, that's for sure," experienced fisherman Mr Okey said.
"It was certainly the biggest shark I've ever seen. In fact, at one stage Tara said there were two of them because we saw two fins - but then we realised they were the shark's tail and dorsal fin."
The pair had just arrived in the area, and had not even begun to fish when the shark turned up. It came to within a couple of metres of the boat and checked it out, then circled from some distance.
"Tara had a camera with her, and she got it out and wanted me to chuck some fish into the water so it would come closer again and we could get a better picture - but I said no bloody way."
Mr Ansley said a member of his fishing boat's crew reported talking to a man who got a big scare on Saturday while kayaking off White Cliffs. The shark, estimated to be at least four metres long, came close to the kayak.
News of the latest encounter brought back plenty of memories for Inglewood's Gary Dodunski, whose boat was attacked by a giant shark off Motunui almost two years ago.
That day, Mr Dodunski, his daughter Michelle and mate Shane Noble were terrified as the shark launched itself out of the water and on to the side of the boat, scratching the hull with its teeth.
"I'll never forget that day - it's firmly entrenched in my mind," he said

2 comments:

Cookster said...

The Perth shark attack is a carefully contrived publicity stunt to sell a truck load of 'Shark Pods' - read it first here:

http://theperthfiles.blogspot.com/2006/01/shark-attack-or-publicity-stunt.html

Jack Lord said...

"shark pods"? is that anything like an Ipod?