“Four or five surfers pulled him out of the water and it looked like a significant part of his lower half had been attacked.”
It’s getting a little repetitive to write these things, but here we go, a surfer was killed by a suspected Great White shark an hour or so ago on a pretty spring day, this time near famous Dee Why point, home to the late great Shane Herring and Peter Crawford among others.
While details are short and the victim has yet to be formally ID’d, although he is believed to be a well-known local surfer, witnesses report seeing a “circle of people crying” on the stretch of sand up from Dee Why called Long Reef and that “four or five surfers pulled him out of the water and it looked like a significant part of his lower half had been attacked.”
The usual scene on Australian beaches: ambulance, cops, choppers. The prophecy that one day soon the abundance of Great White in shallow coastal Australian waters would make surfing and swimming a risky proposition, the old more likely to be hit by a bolt of lightning long evaporated, seems to be coming true.
Understanding the Risks of Swimming with Great White Sharks
Four weeks back, a nine-year-old kid in Tathra on the NSW South Coast was attacked by what was described as a “giant shark” near the site of the fatal mauling by a Great WHite of a swimmer.
The kid recounted the attack simply: “I suddenly started drowning.”
At the start of the year, and after the death of the death of Streaky Bay local Lance Appleby, killed by a Great White shark, the fourth fatal attack on a surfer by a White in less than two years, one shark expert decreed that surfing on South Australia’s west coast was now over.
Get the fuck out of the water and start thinking about doing something else’, because this is over here,” said Jeff Schmucker, one of the area’s most prominent surfers and fishermen.
Schmucker said each new attack “inflames or reignites everyone’s emotions and experiences, a new fear coming over you.”
Ironically, shark nets on the beach had just been set for the summer. The stretch of beach also has three SMART drumlines and is patrolled by drone.
More on the Dee Why attack as it comes.
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Its time we sent Ocean Ramsey down under to swim with the Aussie whites to understand what makes them so aggressive. In all seriousness, condolences to the guy, his family and mates. Tragic.
normalizes genocide at the hands of the very same writers
… I’m just a garbage man.
Agreed. Jebus was a good cunt. However, the cunts whom followed, proclaiming to embrace his teachings … not so.
What is the plot?
There are videos of white sharks circling people daily in California. Entire social media accounts exist because of these occurrences. What is happening with these sharks in Australia? Food source? Over fishing and protection of sharks? Condolences to family and friends. Absolutely horrific. RIP.
… not my intention.
This latest death is truly horrendous and, I offer my condolences to family & .friends.
However, if there was beach-cam footage available, I’m sure a the mainstream media would be in a frenzy to publish it… ala Cabarita a couple weeks prior, or ….???
… er, um, …
they just did.
Has any organised movement emerged to push state or federal lawmakers to act? It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to see protests over—especially after someone is attacked on a Saturday morning at a city beach.
The only organised movement is mainstream media circling the wagons to assure us white sharks are cuddly harmless creatures like we saw in the Netflix doco and we shouldn’t dare to harm a single one of them.
I totally agree with you that the media has misrepresented how vicious hungry and predatory man eating sharks are just cute cuddly and misunderstood. You may remember I recently expressed my desire to see Ocean Ramsey and others of her ilk be attacked and eaten the next time they try to hug and snuggle a giant GW or Tiger.
Do you still believe that drum lines are the best solution for human/shark co existence in NSW? Or do you favor select immediate hunting and removal of the suspect shark? Or do you think that your government should engage in an indiscriminate culling campaign for GW, Tiger and Bull sharks?
I read that OZ drum lines bait & hook sharks then are only tagged and tracked. Does the NSW Shark Smart app give ocean users real time notification when these killers are hanging at their local?
Hawaii does not employ any deterrents or drones. University of Hawaii shark researchers use tonic immobility to catch and tag Tigers and their movements are available online but only indicate the last position where the shark surfaced and in satellite contact.
https://www.himb.hawaii.edu/ReefPredator/NWHI%20Predator.html
All shark attacks are horrific. I can’t think of any other ocean sport where participants are as vulnerable as surfers. Australian efforts to mitigate the risk of shark attacks without harm to these apex predators is appreciated and all shark attack victims worldwide are honored for their sacrifice.
But as I’ve previously said here, if you’re in the ocean, you’ve assumed the risk with all the inherent dangers in pursuing your chosen activity. It’s a still an easy heavily odds on crapshoot but it’s a mindset that you better be comfortable with if you’re gonna be any kind of waterman.
For perspective, real land tigers kill about 50 people worldwide every year. Lions kill over 200 humans a year. Hippos kill about 500 humans a year. Dogs kill over 30,000 humans a year. About 30 to 50 of those in the US alone. All sharks globally kill less than 10 humans every year.
Humans are like an overpopulated ant farm that recently arrived on the planet and methinks that some human culling is what’s long overdue.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lion-kills-man-luxury-lodge-left-tent-use-toilet-namibia/
I really liked Ramsay’s film shark Whisperer…brings a total different view of sharks…..I grew up in an area with Big GWS’s..none under 15’………hardly any attacks, but very low surfer levels…..so surfing population is small and everyone is aware they are out there…
That Ocean Ramsey chick is so wack. Other than being fit she offers fuck all. How would an actual Biologist think that hugging a wild animal can result in any good outcomes for that animal? She gets views and makes dangerous apex animals out to be harmless. So, when the one she rode and hugged that big white girl, she had just got done devouring a dead whale and was catatonic essentially.
I watch this fellas channel occasionally who is an actual Marine Bio and Shark expert. He called her out cold for making up her credentials from University. She refused to go on his channel to defend herself so I’m comfortable in calling her out as being harmful to any kind of Shark conversation. Generally she is a fraud (unless this otherwise proven wrong) and just another lame influencer. If people were not actually being eaten alive by the “peaceful” beasts I could maybe have a sense of humour about it but she is banking blood money the way I see it.
not sure about the hugging…but definitely interaction with sharks , where she challenges the notion …sharks are just mindless man eaters.
Not sure where you got that idea she’s saying sharks are harmless ,as I didn’t come to that conclusion after watching the movie……..
just checked and she has an associate degree in behavioral science and a bachelors degree in Marine biology…..who is the fella Marine Bio/shark expert.
I understand why she rattles people cages…she is beautiful/educated/and does what no-one else would do…..she has had an incredibly positive reaction in educating people about sharks!
The dudes channel is called “Shark Bytes” on youtube. here is a linky –
https://youtu.be/9MgdSxGiuw4?si=Fu2z_Kn82ej_7hUK
I was with you, I thought she was legit til I seen this fellas vid. He is the one who I have to say is pretty legit. He goes through her qual’s – I think the marine bio part isn’t actually a degree as such, and yes.. a behavioral science degree.. but anyway.
Main points are really that she has and does interact with wild animals and there is just no telling how much that could mess with nature. Also ( and not just her btw) she softens the appearance and reality of the actual dangers by going out and riding them while they are the equivalent of being doped up after munging out on a whale carcass for hours and then won’t go on to defend her actions or even debate the downsides/ face any criticism from other experts in the field after the fact.
I agree – mostly those reasons are why I would like someone – and definitely not threatened by a beatiful smart woman, opposite actually! I like disruptive people as a defauklt setting.I dont rate people that mess with nature though.
it’s amazing to see that Ramsay has been bad mouthed etc…..then there’s Cristina Zenato…for 25 years she’s been taking hooks out of the mouths of sharks in the Caribbean…over 300 now…..there’s a lot of evidence out there of people interacting with sharks….and one of the techniques is massaging the sharks snout which puts em in catatonic state called tonic immobility……..to try and use ol mates argument that Ramsay is creating an example by touching sharks and not just taking photo’s etc…..
She really is just a glorified influencer. It’s all well and good going out and saying ‘look they’re not mindless killing machines’ but what good does that actually do? The fact is that if you know one is making a habit of frequenting your local, you’re not gonna go ‘oh it’s alright, they’re actually really friendly’.
Who wouldn’t be happier if it bit on a drumline, rather than savagely attacking their brother/sister/son/daughter etc ?
Mmm
I’d say smart drum lines are the best we’ve got for now.
Hard to say where we will be in 10/15 years time.
Maybe whatever deterrent effect there is will wear off-maybe already wearing off?
Not sure global statistics are of any use when considering regional issues – I know now more people personally who’ve been attacked by white sharks than have had car accidents.
the risk profile is crazy different than it was just over a decade ago.
White sharks then were considered a cool/temperate species- they were considered extremely rare up here. I’d never seen one, never heard of one being seen. Tigers in summer, bulls after rain.
Only one was the submarine that bit a diver in half on his honeymoon off Byron Bay in 1999.
They sent out a fisho and hooked that shark.
18 hr battle, it spat the leg out before breaking the chain and escaping.
Full Jaws type shit.
Now, they are everywhere. I mean, daily occurrence around here.
It’s hard not to look at that range expansion and conclude populations are now recovering, and in a big way.
Other thing that has changed- used to be juvey and sub-adult whites doing the attacking. If you could avoid getting the femoral severed you had a good chance of survival.
Now it’s adults and you ain’t surviving a hit from one of those.
Your minus legs or bitten in half.
RIP to the guy and deepest condolences for his wife, daughter other family and all the guys who went in and tried to save him.
it’s just horrific stuff for a Sat morning surf.
this was the 3rd fatality in Sydney since 1963…….how many surfers have been in the water since 63’…….what are the odds…..miniscule….
Yeah, miniscule for sure MC , but do you think the odds are actually increasing since the great white protection measures came in? Feels like interactions are on the rise. Wonder if there’s more that could be done to protect people, especially with how many more people are surfing these days.
Condolences to family and freinds
Having been a friend of a fatal shark attack victim, for a couple of years i was apart of a group that lobbied for better shark control measures. Unfortunately what I learned is government is so scared of the power of environmental groups social media success the best anyone can hope for is an app.
Out of interest, what happens if this happens at?
Malibu
Hossegor
Saquarema
Brighton
Raglan
Mundaka
bondi
Capetown
Cottesloe
Margerets
La Jolla
etc
is it just thoughts and prayers all round? sharks dont kill people, sharks kill people. if it was a mosquito you kill it without a second thought. Similar circular argument. Time to alpha people.
Sad, Mike Psillaskis ‘s Twin brother Mercury……..sounds like it was an enormous white……Mike’s a great surfer/shaper and heart of gold like his brother…..RIP Merc….
I just want to say how wonderful these comments are (mostly) in light of the terrible incident that happened today. Full respect shown by everyone. Those farrrrkers in the main stream media have gone nuts with their reporting. Reproducing photos of the family etc. Clearly lifted from social networking sites. There is no way they got permission to publish them this quickly. And they are never held to account for their actions. Just a minor retraction or semi apology with no penalties but mostly nothing . It’s a disgrace. The family deserved more. Their only retribution will be a shaming on Mediawatch. This is so wrong.
… images posted to social media (FB / Insta) are deemed to be in the public domain. Ownership, or any notion of copyright is wavered…
No, images posted to social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are not in the public domain; the creator always retains copyright unless they explicitly transfer it. While users grant the platform a broad license to use, copy, and distribute the content through the service’s terms of use, this does not waive the user’s copyright or surrender the image to the public domain.
… yes AND no:
‘Naruto V David Slater’
I’m often wrong, but I believe META to have deeper pockets than PETA…
In Australia, the media can generally use Facebook photos without consent for newsworthy content in the public interest, provided the use doesn’t breach privacy laws, defamation, or Australian Consumer Law.
100%
If the usage is ‘deemed’ in the public interest .
Copyright enforcement of FB ‘user-posted’ content is nigh impossible to pursue…
unless, as you stated. Albeit, proceed with caution.
Love to family and friends. That’s fucked. No words.
Ahh man. This is horrible. Condolences to the fellas family and mates.
I’ve typed that a lot here.
Wild shit man. Wild.
yeh its a known name.
getting very close to home
so fckn crook and condolences to fam and friends.
The irony eh. Govt. policies have made housing in Sydney extortionately expensive. Houses by the beach? Dream’s over. Same govts. have also enacted policies to protect sharks in the waters near the beaches where houses are most expensive (all over Oz).
“Come and buy a house in Sydney. Pay a million or three extra to live near pristine beaches. But whatever the fuck you do, do not enter those waters at any cost, coz protected sharks’ll kill you or your family. But let me show you a gorgeous 2BR beach shack listed for $5.6 mill anyway.”
There have been at least 25 surfers killed by great white sharks in Australia since 1999, according to a March 2025 report. While the exact total is difficult to confirm, the figure of 25 has been cited for the period between the shark’s “vulnerable” listing in 1999 and March 2025.
Sharks enjoying the good life thanks to state and federal protection policies in Australia, while surfers, divers and beachgoers are dying.
How many people didn’t get eaten in the surf since 1999? Fuckloads
Condolences to the family and all involved
In case you are slow on the uptake or certified mentally retarded – this doesn’t have to be happening, other than the pro-shark policies at the state and federal level in Australia are getting surfers, divers and other ocean users killed.
The protection of its people’s lives and welfare is widely considered the primary responsibility of a government, encompassing national security and the safeguarding of individual rights and safety. This foundational duty ensures the stability and existence of the society, enabling the pursuit of other societal goals like justice, economic stability, and public services.
Note the health, safety and well-being of large sharks is not a responsibility of government.
You’ve got to question why the fishing of sharks is banned but no other fish species.
We fish their food source, while the sharks population grows. I think the few sharks and turtles that die from drum lines / nets, aren’t worth the lives that we’re losing.
Don ,t you live in America anyway? What would Donald do?
We can use the “About the Author” section from my new book – available on preorder from Amazon, The Nile, WHSmith, etc
About the Author
John Seaton Callahan has been a professional photographer since graduating from the College of Fine Arts at UCLA in 1987. His images, represented by Getty, appear globally with over 3,000 editorial pages and 125+ covers for major outlets like National Geographic, the New York Times, and the BBC.
He is the creative director of the surfEXPLORE® Group and a widely published contributor to major global surfing publications. Originally from Hawaii, where he began surfing at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki in 1969, John has lived in Singapore since 2001.
Summarised as
Wanker
Man the lowest sort of scumbag he is. Flogging a book in this thread. How noone has knocked him is beyond me.
rock spider at the very least…..
Shameless self promoting will get you nowhere tool bag.
Wasn’t my idea – someone asked.
John, have a bit of class and remove or edit this post. Self aggrandizement has no place on this particular article.
You can always tell when someone loves the sound of their own voice
Surely you know what the Don would do.
He would fuck the juvenile sharks around his mates island.
Xox
I guess I am lucky I grew up in a age where we didn’t want or need the goverment or any other formal body of cunts telling us what to do or how to keep safe in the water.
local fishos get the job done fine.
Due to heavy commercial fishing of sharks in Australia, surfers enjoyed relatively shark-free waters in the 1960’s through the 1990’s.
Not any more –
Not where i grew up mate fucken tiger shark heaven , not to mention the whaling stations dotted arround the coastline , your dreaming if you think it was safer , possibly in the cities it might have been but not in the country.
Australia had a commercial shark fishing industry before 2000, with the Southern Shark Fishery (SSF) beginning in 1927 and becoming a major target shark fishery for flesh and later for Vitamin A, while other targeted and bycatch shark fisheries operated in Western Australia and Northern Australia from the 1940s onwards.
In 1999, Australia extended full protection to the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) under both federal and state laws, following its listing as vulnerable in 1996 due to population decline. This protected status bans the hunting and harassing of the species throughout Australian waters.
You’re a fuckwit pretending to be some shark expert when all you’ve ever done is exploit surf spots for clicks. You don’t speak for surfers, you ruin lineups. Sit down and shut the fuck up cunt.
Deepest condolences to family and friends of the victim.
Bexy hopefully logs in!!!
Yeah safety check please Bex. Horrible stuff. When is enough enough.
i just spoke to a mate – he shift works and wasn’t in water luckily but he has heard who – both of us know him unfortunately!! am waiting to hear officially
FUCK
Really sorry mate. Big love.
Its gunna suck no doubt – i haven’t lived northern beaches there for 8 years and was gonna surf there tomor with said mate for fathers day !!
I had a name come to me straight away for some reason – so am hoping it’s not that person!!
He not saying as mentioned area cordoned off and did not want to create a story
Massive bummer and am sure people closer than me going to be gutted
yep I know him as well and am shocked, good guy
yeah i just heard now who – my mate said he surfed with him other day and he was absolutely ripping on a 1 foot peak out poles on a quad!!
RIP
and apparently fucking massive shark!!!
Never met him but have spent a bit of time with his twin, if he was anything like him he must have been a good bloke, very sad.
This is so heavy.
was pushing the grom into a few yesterday, he dosent know yet, i dunno what to say to him.
so sad for that family.
Just saw who it was, so heavy. Can imagine it will rock your community. Sorry to everyone for the loss
I hope you can find some words of reason for the situation mate.
Xox
Feel for you mate
Condolences to the family. This is so sad.
I really don’t understand why councils want to ditch the shark nets when we put them there for a reason and they seemed to have worked pretty well.