perth now reports that another diver has been attacked by a shark. Their headline reads

WA spear fisherman jumped by angry shark off Coral Bay coast

According to their article:  A WA spear fisherman has captured the terrifying moment he was jumped by an angry reef shark off the North West coast. 

Albany teenager Brad Vale, 19, was spearfishing for mackerel with friends 4km off the coast of Coral Bay on Wednesday when the shark, estimated to be about` 1.5 metres long, began to circle him.
“I dived down and just sort of sat down at the bottom and a shark came in on me,” he said.

“He got a bit close then did a big turn at me and charged so I gave him a poke. When I poked him he just turned back and without me noticing I looked down and he was already chewing on my gut.
“I got to the surface and was going to shoot it but I didn’t even have time to do that. He sort of latched on to my stomach and I tried to hit it with my gun in my hand but he let go pretty quick.”

Wow, what a terrifying experience. Getting attacked by a shark for no reason. Let's look at the video Brad Vale shot of this incident.

 
Video source: youtube/brradz

Well, good thing he posted that video, because it clearly shows Brad descending and poking the shark, before it turned on him!

So when Brad says that the shark turned on him and then he "poked" it, he really meant to say "I hit it and then it turned on me".

But hey, blame the shark, it makes for a much better headline. I would be angry too, if someone hit me with the pointy end of a speargun. Read the entire article here.

Anyway, I'm glad that Brad is OK and I hope he learned that it's not a good idea to poke a shark.

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver
  
About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.