.: July 2012

9.46am Saturday morning.......another shark attack...early news is its fatal but no-one really knows
yet..
follow up

A surfer, who is yet to be identified, was attacked while out with a mate about 4km east of the the island, north of the coastal fishing town of Lancelin, at about 9am.

Surf Life Saving WA said Water Police had confirmed the attack was fatal.
Police from Jurien Bay and Lancelin were called to the popular surf beach after the man's distressed mate phoned for help.
The victim is believed to be aged in his early 20s

The RAC rescue helicopter was called to air-lift the man back to Perth but it's understood his body is yet to be recovered.
The shark attack is the fifth in WA during the past 10 months.

In April, WA Fisheries senior shark research scientist Rory McAuley said the state was the deadliest place in the world for shark attacks, after the death of 33-year-old diver Peter Kurmann off the southwest coast, the fourth death in seven months.

Mr McAuley said there had been an ``unprecedented'' number of fatal shark attacks off WA in the past two years.

Last month, 62-year-old surf life saver Martin Kane was rescued by one of his fellow paddlers when a shark attacked his surf ski at Mullaloo beach.

A world-first acoustic tagging program introduced last year has shown sharks are lingering off the metropolitan coast for months at a time.

WA Fisheries Minister Norman Moore recently said the state had pre-emptively banned shark tourism.

UPDATE 3.35pm: Baited lines will be set in a bid to catch the shark which killed a surfer near Wedge Island this morning as an intensive search continues for the remains of the 24-year-old Perth man who was taken while surfing with a mate earlier today.

Fisheries Minister Norman Moore said that the shark, believed to be a great white, would be killed if it was captured.
Witnesses said the surfer was less than 50m from shore when he was taken but Fisheries say he was about 200m offshore from an isolated beach and about 4km south of Wedge Island, about 160km north of Perth.
Fisheries Department Shark Response Unit spokesperson Tony Cappelluti said the department had sent staff and resources to the site of the attack.
“The 20-metre Patrol Vessel Houtman and the Lancelin District vessel are on the scene and Fisheries and Marine Officers on board have been given the order to set shark capture gear,” Mr Cappelluti said.
“When last seen the shark was heading offshore, but we have placed baited lines in the water near the attack site, in an attempt to catch the shark should it return to the location or pose a threat in the area.
“To this time, no further shark sightings have been made in the area, since the fatal incident.
“Eyewitnesses at the location told police they saw the shark swimming out to deeper water after the incident.”
Mr Cappelluti said the shark capture lines would remain in the water for the rest of the day.
“A decision will be made before nightfall to remove this gear and any further use would be dependent on any new shark sightings, operational assessments and weather conditions,” he said.
“The local shire has closed beaches in the area and will reassess that decision at some stage tomorrow, depending on whether there are further sightings or not."
Police from Jurien Bay and Lancelin have joined Water Police, Polar 61 and Lancelin Volunteer Marine Rescue at the scene. Quad bikes are scouring the beach.
"At this stage no remains have been located," a police spokesman said.

Witnesses have told police the surfer, believed to be from Perth, was mauled by the shark about 9am. The incident was reported to police by another surfer about 9.10am.
A young jetskier who witnessed the attack described bloody scene at the popular surf break.
"I saw the guy get attacked by a shark. It was a white pointer, possibly four to five metres long," the man told Sky News. "I took my mate to shore - they was blood everywhere and a massive white shark was circling the body, the half a torso that was left.
"I did a loop and came back but the shark took the body," he said
The surfer's death is the fifth fatal attack in WA in the last 10 months.
Surfers were littered throughout the water this morning making the most of the perfect surfing conditions when the attack happened.
Police have confirmed the man's family live in the country and are currently on their way to Perth.
Wedge resident of 36 years, Anne McGuiness, was at the beach where the young man was taken.
"All our kids and everyone else come here. It is beautiful for surfing, well, it was," she said. "He (the victim) was here with friends - they all seemed to know each other as surfers do.
"When I got here they were looking pretty calm and collected, they all had phones and I think they had rung 000."
Beaches in the area have been closed.

Fisheries Minister Norman Moore said the shark could be located it would be killed.
This afternoon Fisheries Department spokesman Tony Capelluti said culling was "not on our agenda".
Dandaragan Shire President Shane Love said it was a tragic day for the small community.
In April, WA Fisheries senior shark research scientist Rory McAuley said the state was the deadliest place in the world for shark attacks, after the death of 33-year-old diver Peter Kurmann in the South West, the fourth death in seven months.
Mr McAuley said there had been an "unprecedented" number of fatal shark attacks off WA in the past two years.
Last month, 62-year-old surf life saver Martin Kane was rescued by one of his fellow paddlers when a shark attacked his surf ski at Mullaloo beach.
A world-first acoustic tagging program introduced last year has shown sharks are lingering off the metropolitan coast for months at a time.
Last week a tagged great white sharked was detected about 500 metres off Perth beaches. The 5m female shark was tagged on May 11 in Albany and as recently as July 9 triggered receivers at Cottesloe, Trigg, City Beach and Ocean Reef.