Shark attacks Navy diver

[Wildcat]

Unlucky...

A shark attack on a navy diver in Sydney Harbour is a reminder that regenerated sea life is attracting predators back into the iconic waterway, authorities say.

Able Seaman Paul Fegeler, 31, suffered serious wounds to his hand and thigh after fighting off the shark which attacked him just before 7am (AEDT) on Wednesday within sight of the Sydney Opera House.

He was taken to nearby St Vincent's Hospital, where a spokesman said he underwent surgery and remained in intensive care in a serious but stable condition.

The navy would not confirm reports he lost his hand while fighting off what was believed to be a bull shark, but an ambulance spokesman said it was partially severed.

Seaman Fegeler, a police diver and a safety boat were somewhere between HMAS Kuttabul navy base at Garden Island and Mrs Macquarie's Chair as part of an underwater trial to test new naval defence technology.

Australian Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Nigel Coates said the attack was an unwelcome first for navy divers.

"I believe it's the first time that one of our divers has been attacked by a shark," Rear Admiral Coates told reporters.

"We have suspended our diving activities over this exercise until further notice."

The divers involved could not identify the species or size of the shark.

"The shark attacked the diver (and) our diver punched the shark, I believe, a couple of times," Rear Admiral Coates said.

"The shark then disappeared very quickly - it was all over, I'm told, in a few seconds."

The injured diver was hauled into a nearby safety boat, given first aid and taken by ambulance to hospital.

Marine experts believe sharks are being lured into the harbour in greater numbers by schools of kingfish and salmon and other fish thriving in its cleaner waters.

The last shark fatality in Sydney Harbour was in 1963 when Martha Hathaway died from a bull shark attack.

In 1996, a drunken swimmer was bitten on the buttocks by a bull shark in the Parramatta River, followed by shark attacks on kayakers on the river in 2000 and 2002.

Also in 2000, a man was bitten by a shark while swimming in the harbour at Mosman.

Shark expert John West from Taronga Zoo said it was likely a bull shark was also responsible for the diver's attack.

"This time of year there's a number of species of sharks which are in the harbour - wobbegong, Port Jackson, as well as more dangerous types such as the bull shark and the dusky shark," he said.

"The bull sharks are the most dangerous."

The NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change said 30 years of industrial regulation, toxic chemical bans and, more recently, stormwater treatment programs, had revived water quality in the harbour and boosted resident sea life populations.

"As the harbour gets healthier, so the numbers of fish are likely to improve and so, too, you may also have sharks attracted to the whole area," says department spokesman John Dengate, the media naturalist and author.

Sydney harbour fishing guide Craig McGill said a huge influx of kingfish, salmon and other assorted species into the harbour would be followed by sharks in hot pursuit.

"We've seen them before, but we're seeing more tiger sharks in the last two weeks than we've seen in 20 years," Mr McGill said.

Shark populations in the harbour peak around Easter, he said, which meant no one should rely on million-to-one shark attack statistics when swimming in the harbour.

"That's like saying: what are your chances of being hit by a car if you play on a suburban back street versus the highway.

"It's the same with sharks."

ttp://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/749869/navy-diver-critical-after-shark-attack

 

[Graeme]

Unlucky...

Here's another very unlucky Australian. Did you see this one in the news the other day?...

Teen choked to death in motorcycle accident on Central Coast | The Daily Telegraph

A TEENAGE boy has been choked to death in a bizarre motorcycle accident.

The 16-year-old victim was found dead on a fire trail by a passer-by off Katara Rd, at Warnervale on the Central Coast.

The Wadalba High School student was making the most of a late start on Friday because of the teacher's two-hour stop work meeting yesterday to go riding with mates, The Daily Telegraph reports.

He had gone home to get a rope after one of their bikes became bogged in sand but when he failed to return his friends dug the bike out by hand and left.

At 11.30am a passer-by raised the alarm when he discovered the 16-year-old's body strangled by a length of nylon rope.

It appears the teenager was carrying the rope coiled around his head and shoulder when an end came loose and caught in the chain's sprockets causing it to instantly tighten around his neck.

 

[Watanbe]

Oh yay what a very unlucky country we live in at current!

 

[109ROAMING]

Bloody hell ,Take care guys

 

[Crunch]

Bloody Hell! usually when someone gets strangled up here on the coast it's after a pub-fight in Wyong!

I think I'll just stay home for the next few weeks.

(At least I'll get this SM 79 started!)

 

[Wayne Little]

Unbelievable!?

 

[Heinz]

Thats just shocking luck.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

Jesus, talk about bad luck!

 

[Graeme]

Oh yay what a very unlucky country we live in at current!

 

[Watanbe]

Graeme mate that just about sums it up haha

 

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

I like that cartoon, though it's not that funny.

Hopefully Australia will do better in the summer.

 

[Wayne Little]

Not the only Shark attack we've had lately.......been a few...anyone for a swim?

 

[lesofprimus]

Ive had several run in with sharks in my time underwater, and it scares the sh!t outta u, literally... Knowing something can eat u and then meeting that critter on his turf gives u a completely different view on life....

I remember one time doin some "recovery" work at about 130 feet, and I get this tap on my shoulder, turn around and theres a 15 foot Tiger swimmin right at us.... Times like that, a bang stick sittin in ur hand seems like a foolish deterrant....

 

[Wayne Little]

swimming...no thanks....think I'll stay feet dry!

 

[lesofprimus]

I wouldnt be able to survive if I wasnt by the ocean and in it as much as I can....