Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
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."
Unlucky...