Analysis of shark incident data has uncovered the details of reported attacks in Sunshine Coast waters, including four fatal events and one man’s lucky escape from a white pointer.
The Australian Shark Incident Database shows that 20 people in the region have had significant confrontations with the apex predator, while another shark resource, Shark Attack File, provides further information about many of the run-ins.
Thirteen of the encounters have been since 1996 – that’s about one every 18 months.
The incidents have been highlighted by Sunshine Coast News after the Queensland Shark Control program captured 123 sharks in the area last year: the most since 2002.
There are 22 shark nets and 60 drumlines between Noosa and Caloundra, along with three research receivers (detectors) and three drones.
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The earliest recorded attack was off the Caloundra headland in 1863, when two tiger sharks “seized and devoured” a man. Shark Attack File and the Brisbane Courier report that a crew had struck land there after their small boat was caught in wild weather. They tried to run the boat back out to sea but it capsized in the breakers and the shark attacked a ‘Mr Barnsfield’.
It was decades before the next accounted attack.
A 28-year-old man died after being bitten on the leg and pelvic region by a tiger shark while swimming about 150m offshore during the middle of a busy day at Kings Beach in 1948. Shark Attack File and The Courier Mail reported that Brisbane boilermaker Sam Keys was beyond the break when he shouted “shark” and was seen to struggle, before disappearing under the water. His body washed ashore where it was retrieved by a lifesaver. There were about 200 surfers and swimmers nearby.
A 22-year-old man was killed by a 3m bull shark while surfing early in the morning at Laguna Bay at Noosa Heads in 1961. He was attacked from behind and bitten on the leg, sustaining fatal injuries. Shark Attack File sources news reports, including the Sydney Morning Herald, informing that Brisbane dentist student John Andrews was leaving the water with his board when he was attacked in the shallows. He was helped to the beach by three people and taken to hospital but died six days later. The beach was closed and the shark was caught a day after the attack.
A 21-year-old man was lucky to survive an attack by a 3m great white shark during a late afternoon surf off Maroochydore/Alexandra Headland in 1975. The shark struck from below and bit the man and his board. He suffered major wounds to his leg and pelvic region and the shark was subsequently caught. Shark Attack File said via Bucks County Courier Times and Sunday Mail, that there was a splash and Gary Grace and his board disappeared about 270m offshore, before the shark “spat” him out. Surfers helped him to shore.
A 26-year-old man died after being attacked by a tiger shark while snorkelling at Buddina in 1977. He punched and kicked at the animal in an attempt to fight it off but the shark severed his arm and bit his torso and foot, causing fatal injuries. Shark Attack File and The Age reported that George Walter, a 25-year-old man from Melbourne, was knocked off a raft and “taken” by the shark. It was five days before his body washed up on to the beach.
Most of the reported shark attack victims in recent years involved board riders.
See the full list of attacks at the bottom of this article
A Department of Agriculture and Fisheries spokesperson said beachgoers can do their part to avoid risks.
“DAF’s SharkSmart website provides tips for reducing the likelihood of negative interactions between humans and sharks,” they said.
“These include swimming between the flags, avoiding bait fish, swimming with a mate, and avoiding murky waters.”
More than a third of the sharks caught in the area last year were long-nose whalers, but 10 other species were also recorded, including 25 tiger sharks.
The average length of the sharks caught was 1.77m and the largest was a 3.79m great white, off Noosa. It was one of three white pointers snared in the area: the most since 2002. They were also off caught off Caloundra and Mudjimba.
More sharks were caught off the coast of Noosa (30) than anywhere else in the region.
A Fisheries Queensland spokesperson said the number of sharks caught in the region last year was “within the normal range of inter-annual variation” and the state government was doing what it could to keep beachgoers safe, via established methods such as nets and drumlines, and more modern measures like drones.
Trials and studies are also underway on a number of other initiatives, including with drones and electronic warning devices.
“The Queensland Shark Management Plan 2021-2025 sets out how the government will continue to reduce the risk of shark bites through the traditional program, while researching and trialling new shark mitigation technologies and boosting community education on SharkSmart behaviours,” they said.
“The SharkSmart drone trial commenced on the Sunshine Coast in September 2020, however no changes have been made to the configuration of nets and drumlines on the Sunshine Coast.”
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries said it was taking actions to minimise impacts on other marine life, while animal welfare activists voiced their opposition to the Shark Control Program.
Seventy-five of the 113 caught sharks in the region last year were non-targeted, while 38 other animals, including mammals, turtles and rays were also inadvertently captured. The majority of caught sharks and other animals were listed as ‘dead’ on the Fisheries Queensland database.
Reported attacks (via the Australian Shark Incident Database).
- Two tiger sharks attacked and killed a man off the Caloundra headland in 1863, when he was attempting to take a boat offshore. His body was not found.
- A 28-year-old man died after being bitten on the leg and pelvic region by a tiger shark while swimming with another person about 150m offshore during the middle of the day at Kings Beach in 1948.
- A 22-year-old man was killed by a 3m bull shark while surfing early in the morning at Laguna Bay at Noosa Heads in 1961. He was attacked from behind and bitten on the leg, sustaining fatal injuries. The shark was captured.
- A 21-year-old man was lucky to survive an attack by a 3m great white shark during a late afternoon surf off Maroochydore/Alexandra Headland in 1975. The shark struck from below and bit the man and the board. He suffered major wounds to his leg and pelvic region. The shark was caught.
- A 26-year-old man died after being attacked by a tiger shark while snorkelling at Buddina in 1977. He punched and kicked at the animal in an attempt to fight it off but the shark severed his arm and bit his torso and foot, causing fatal injuries.
- A male just evaded a 2.4m bronze whaler while swimming near baitfish at Mooloolaba in 1979.
- An 18-year-old girl was bitten on the foot by a wobbegong while surfing off Coolum at dusk in 1996. She suffered minor cuts.
- An 18-year-old man in a black wetsuit suffered minor injuries after being bitten on the calf by a 1.5m tiger shark during a mid-afternoon surf at high tide about 15m off Pin Cushion Island at Maroochydore in 1997. He was in the water for an hour before the attack.
- A 37-year-old man was bitten on the arm and hand by a 1.2m wobbegong while he was scuba diving at a depth of 14m at an undisclosed location one afternoon in 1998. He sustained minor cuts.
- A tiger shark bit into a man’s surfboard about 25m off Noosa Heads Main Beach in 1999. The shark was among a group of about 40 people in the late afternoon.
- A 36-year-old man was bitten on the foot and leg by a 1.5m whaler shark near baitfish while he was surfing about 20m off Sunrise Beach one morning in 2002. He fought back, punching and kicking at the shark. He suffered minor lacerations.
- An 18-year-old man was bitten on the foot by a wobbegong while standing in the water at Golden Beach in 2006. He suffered minor injuries.
- A 46-year-old man in a wetsuit was bitten on the chest, sustaining minor lacerations, by a 2m wobbegong while scuba diving 3m below the surface off Caloundra the same year.
- A 29-year-old male surfer had a brush with a whaler shark about 50m off Buddina in 2012, when it bumped his board.
- A male surfer suffered minor injuries to his torso and shoulder when a tiger shark bit his board at Noosa Heads in 2013.
- A male was bitten on the foot by a 1.2m shark while surfing 50m off Caloundra in 2016. He sustained major injuries.
- A male escaped an encounter with a shark at Kings Beach one evening in 2016, when he was bitten on the leg and torso. He suffered only minor injuries.
- Another person had a brush with a tiger shark while kayaking off Moffat Beach in 2018. They were not injured.
- A 43-year-old man was bitten on the hand by a 1m bull shark while surfing at Bells Creek one morning in 2019, when the leash got pulled down and he reached down to grab it.
- Further afield, a 36-year-old man died after being bitten on the leg and foot by a whaler shark while snorkelling off Fraser Island during the day in 2020, while there have also been reported attacks off Bribie Island.
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