Fisherman is forced to wait 10 HOURS with ‘significant injuries’ for emergency help after being attacked by a shark in infamous waters off the coast of Australia
- The fisherman was attacked on Tuesday night by a lemon shark off the WA coast
- The incident was not reported until Wednesday, with the man moved to Exmouth
- He is a serious but stable condition with ‘significant injuries’ from the attack
- The man in his 30s is expected to be moved to Royal Perth Hospital tonight
A man who was attacked by a shark off the coast of Western Australia on Tuesday night endured ‘significant injuries’ for about 10 hours until he received medical attention.
The man is now in a serious but stable condition in Exmouth on Western Australia’s North West Cape.
He was believed to be fishing on a charter boat near Varanus Island when he was attacked by a lemon shark shortly after 8pm on Tuesday night.
The attack was only reported this morning when WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s fisheries officers became aware of the incident, which occurred about 120km west of Karratha.
The man was treated on board the charter boat for lower body injuries as it motored through the night to reach Exmouth, where he was met by paramedics.
The man in his 30s was attacked by a lemon shark, which can grow up to 3.8m, weigh 90kg and are known to prefer feeding at night in fish nurseries. They are not generally considered a threat to humans
The man was on a fishing charter boat off the coast of Western Australia. Pictured: Cape Range National Park near Exmouth
It’s expected the man will be transferred to Royal Perth Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctor Service this evening.
The area where the man was fishing is popular with recreational anglers but is known for the plentiful presence of sharks in the water.
Lemon sharks are so-called because a yellow colouring to their skin provides camouflage as they swim over their regular habitat of the sandy seafloor.
They can grow up to 3.8m, weigh 90kg and are known to prefer feeding at night in fish nurseries. They are not generally considered a threat to humans.
There were eight fatalities from shark attacks last year, Australia’s highest number since 1929 when nine people died.
In Western Australia, a 55-year-old man died at Cable Beach, Broome in November 2020 after an attack by a tiger shark.
Another man in his 40s was bitten by a tiger shark while diving off Quondong Beach, 50km north of Broome, in May this year.
In October last year, surfer Andrew Sharpe, 52, was dragged from his board by what witnesses described as a four-metre ‘monster’ shark in the waters off Esperance on WA’s south coast.
WA surfer Andrew Sharpe was taken by a shark near Esperance on the state’s south coast in October 2020