was diving with his daughter off the coast of
Maria Island in Tasmania, Australia. The man,
who was in his late 40s and his daughter, who
is in her 20s, were diving for scallops from
a small dinghy Saturday morning when the
fatal attack took place, the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation reported.
The woman had returned to the boat while her
father continued to collect scallops
underwater, David Wiss, an inspector with the
Tasmania police, told reporters during a press
conference.
"His daughter became worried and went down
and checked on her father when]she saw a
very large shark, she saw her father being
attacked by the shark," Wiss said.
The woman resurfaced from an estimated
depth of 39 feet and set off a flare to alert
other boaters in the area, who came to help.
"They pulled up the man using the air hose
that he was attached to," Wiss told reporters,
"but unfortunately he was fatally injured."
The victim's daughter was "deeply
traumatized," according to Wiss, and could
only describe the shark as "large."
Witnesses reported sightings of a 15-foot
great white shark in the area on Friday, a
Maria Island senior ranger told The Examiner.
Sharks are not common in those waters,
said John Hammond, president of the Scallop
Fishermen's Association of Tasmania, which
regulates scallop fishing in the area. Other
divers were also in the water at the time of
the attack, he said.
"It is really shallow, sheltered water,"
Hammond. "It used to be traditional scallop
ground... It is an absolute tragedy."
Tasmanian senator Peter Whish-Wilson said
that the event was a "terrible tragedy," but
asked the public to stay calm.
"There have only been five fatal shark attacks
in Tasmania since convict times," Whish-
Wilson said. “Over time people will be calling
for sharks to be killed. While it’s tragic news,
we want to keep a couple of things in
perspective.”
The Guardian
