November 2011    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 26, No. 11   What's this?

Shark Hunt or Witch Hunt?

Aussie dive operators call for shark killing rampages

from the November, 2011 issue of Undercurrent  

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A fatal shark attack on a scuba diver off Western Australia last month triggered a knee-jerk witch hunt by local authorities. American diver George Thomas Wainwright, 32, was attacked while diving solo off a boat near Rottnest Island. Two friends in a nearby boat noticed a burst of bubbles, followed by a plume of blood, before their friend's lifeless body floated to the surface. They reported that a 10-foot great white shark appeared as they tried to pull Wainwright's body from the water. The same shark reportedly nudged their boat as they headed for shore.

This was the third fatal shark attack off Australia's southwest coast in less than two months. Earlier, a bodyboarder and a swimmer were believed to have been taken by great whites. The former had his legs severed, and only the swimmer's torn trunks were found. Typically, Australia averages a little more than one fatal shark attack a year....