A Byron Bay surfer had a close encounter with a shark yesterday, although unlike other recent attacks on the north coast the animal swam off without sinking a bite.
But another shark was not so lucky at the weekend.
Tiger shark caught
Photos of a massive tiger shark have been posted on the Facebook page of Byron-based group, Positive Change for Marine Life.
According to local media the shark was caught by a commercial fisher about 14 nautical miles off Tweed Heads last month.
The shark was caught as part of commercial fishery and not as a ‘culling’ exercise.
But the photo caused a firestorm of reaction after it was posted on social media and has been reposted numerous times.
Positive Change for Marine Life spokesperson Karl Goodsell told Echonetdaily killing sharks was not the answer to the current situation on the northern rivers.
‘Removing them while not understanding anything about their behaviour or migration patterns is a band-aid solution, which all science to date reflects will not solve the problem of shark attacks,’ he said.
He said the shark was ‘definitely a tiger shark, about three and half metres, and sexually mature.’
Board spun around
Meanwhile, in the other encounter, Harry Docking was surfing with his son and a friend off McGregor Street in Suffolk Park when a shark nudged his board.
Mr Docking said both the other men had left the water when the shark attacked him.
He told ABC radio he felt something ‘punch the end of my board near the fin and the inside of my right foot’.
He added that it was only then that he saw the shark in the turbulent, sandy water.
Mr Docking said the animal was ‘bigger than my surfboard, so probably seven or eight feet’ and that it bumped the board with enough force to spin it around in the water.
He was unable to determine what type of shark it was but said the animal was a ‘greyish’ colour and had a ‘rough skin’.
In a bizarre irony, Mr Docking had taken to the water in memory of a friend, Ashley Wilmott, who was tragically killed by a dumping wave about 200 metres south of the same beach several weeks ago.
On Monday a shark was spotted at Flat Rock, at 10.30am. According to the report, the shark swam under a group of surfers, who reckon it was a white pointer about three metres long.
And on Sunday Air T&G reported seeing two very large sharks at Lighthouse Beach, Ballina at around 1pm.
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