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10/22/2008 Steve Cloke ( Australia )

Worldwide Reported Shark Attack Related Incidents in 2008.
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sharkbait
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Re: 10/22/2008 Steve Cloke ( Australia )

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Head scrape after run in with shark
Head scrape after run in with shark
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sharkbait
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Re: 10/22/2008 Steve Cloke ( Australia )

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First photo: Steve Cloke victim of Manly shark attack
Article from: The Daily Telegraph

By Evelyn Yamine

October 22, 2008 07:20pm
'Like a love bite' ... Steve Cloke with wife Fiona. Picture courtesy of the Manly Daily.
'Like a love bite' ... Steve Cloke with wife Fiona. Picture courtesy of the Manly Daily.
steve_cloke_wife.jpg (31.77 KiB) Viewed 17932 times


IT is the ultimate experience for an English tourist but a dive in a shark tank almost left Steve Cloke as fish bait yesterday.

While holidaying in Australia, Mr Cloke yesterday decided to swim with sharks at Oceanworld Manly as a special treat.

But a sudden power blackout "spooked" a grey nurse shark, which then struck the 34-year-old in the head.

As the centre was plunged into darkness, 3m female grey nurse Palace swam towards Mr Cloke and grazed the top of his head with its razor-sharp tooth, drawing blood from the Englishman.



Paramedics were called to the tourist spot after initial reports of a possible shark attack.

Mr Cloke was taking part in what is labelled an "extreme Australian experience" - swimming with the sharks - when he was hit about 5.20pm.

Read more about Steve's experience at the Manly Daily

The 34-year-old Bristol man is in Australia for a three-week holiday with his wife Fiona - who could only watch on helplessly as her husband was bleeding in the shark pool.

"I was in there for five minutes when I felt this almighty wallop on the top of my head," he said. "But it's an absolutely great story to tell everyone back home."

Mrs Cloke, who watched the ordeal from the other side of the glass, said she was terrified as she watched the scene unfold.

"It was pretty scary from my side of the glass. I'm just so glad he's OK," she said.

Sydney Attractions Group CEO Kevin Bush said it was the first injury suffered in about 20,000 dives at Oceanworld.

"Staff followed all protocols and discontinued the dive immediately and everyone was healthy and happy," Mr Bush said.

Grey nurse sharks are classed as one of the most non-threatening and docile of their species.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 21,00.html
sharkbait
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10/22/2008 Steve Cloke ( Australia )

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Steve Cloke while visiting Oceanworld Manly in Australia on a Extreme Shark Dive in the Aquarium was injured by a Gray Nurse Shark on the head.****


Shark attack at Oceanworld Manly
Article from: The Daily Telegraph

By Michelle Cazzulino

October 22, 2008 05:30pm
ATTACK confirmed ... photo of one of the sharks at Oceanworld Manly.
ATTACK confirmed ... photo of one of the sharks at Oceanworld Manly.
gray_nusre_shark.jpg (15.83 KiB) Viewed 17933 times
A PERSON, believed to be a man, has been injured by a shark at Oceanworld Manly, an ambulance spokesman has confirmed.

Few details are known about the attack, which occurred at 5.15pm.

The ambulance spokesman said the person was "conscious and breathing" and being treated at the scene by paramedics.

Initial reports indicated the man was bitten by a shark. But latest reports from ambulance sources say the guy was ``bumped'' on the head by a grey nurse shark and was not seriously hurt.

Oceanworld Manly has a tank - known as Extreme Shark Dive - filled with the largest sharks in captivity in Australia.

In 2005, the Extreme Shark Dive manager described his job and what the shark tank is like in this article republished below from The Sunday Telegraph. At the time there had been no reports of any shark attacks at Oceanworld.

"Dean Moore's office is a tank filled with the largest sharks in captivity in Australia.

As manager of Oceanworld Manly's Extreme Shark Dive,a tank filled with the largest sharks in captivity in Australia. As manager of Oceanworld Manly's Extreme Shark Dive, Moore is responsible for the estimated 3000 people who come to dive with sharks at the oceanarium yearly.

And the number of people taking "extreme" dives has increased by about 80 per cent a year in the three years the attraction has been open.

In 2001, Moore came up with the idea of letting members of the public dive with the sharks rather than staying dry in a 110m viewing tunnel.

"It was a risk, because if one person was attacked, the whole company would be liable," Moore says.

"But no member of the public has ever been attacked in the whole time we've been operating. The sharks are too well fed to go for the public.

"When we started, we were putting through 40 people a week; now it's about 140 a week - 3000 a year."

Because they work in a sharks' den, the diving staff at Oceanworld must be rigorously trained, and there have been very few attacks on staff.

"A small number of staff have been injured because of statistically how much time they spend in the tank," Moore says.

"But it says something about sharks that we have never had an attack while there was food in the water. All my body parts are still intact!

"It's an adrenalin rush. On the very first feed I did, I got bitten and thrown around the bottom of the tank.

"I didn't even realise I'd been bitten. They're sort of giving you a taste-test; if it doesn't taste good, they'll spit it out.

"The shark was big - more than 3m. It was easily 250kg."

Moore began working at the Oceanarium in 2001 as a volunteer, but his talent was recognised and he was offered a job.

"My job now is to see that the staff are happy. I administer first aid, and I still get pulled in to feed," he says.

The sharks dine at least three times a week on 20kg of fresh salmon and kingfish.

The Extreme Divers take three groups of four people a day for a two-hour session that includes a tour, medical and safety training.

"Eighty per cent of our market don't want to be here. They have gotten the dive as a gift certificate," Moore says.

"But it's more of a challenge for us, and it keeps my enthusiasm up, because those people are 10 times more satisfied.

"They leave crying with happiness and hugging one another.

"It's a great way of teaching people that sharks are friendly. The grey nurse was going to be extinct, but now it's known as the friendly shark."

Only 300 grey nurse sharks are left on Australia's east coast."

Source: The Daily Telegraph


http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 21,00.html
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