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08/04/2012 - Téophane Tauiratea - FRENCH POLYNESIA

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:31 pm
by alb
We are still looking for information on this incident and the 40 or so other incidents from the French Polynesia area that have gone un-reported.
25 of them were the result of shark feeding divers so we will probably never get all the info.

Tuamotu. If this is the first attack in a dive, this is not the first time a lemon shark attacks a human
being in Polynesia. August 4, Téophane, spearfishing, was severely bitten in the shoulder by a
shark, lemon, Kaukura, the Tuamotus. That day, after speared two fish in muddy water, he saw a
gray shark that revolves around him. Téophane shoots an arrow in his direction to scare them away.
But while he is busy rearming his gun, he is surprised by a huge lemon shark with a length of 2.5 to
3 meters. Bitten on the shoulder, the fisherman loses his mask and a palm. He finds it difficult to
return to the boat, swimming with his one good arm. Fortunately, the shark is not returned to the
charge.
Generally not aggressive, the size of a lemon shark (two to three meters) makes it potentially
dangerous to humans. Shark attacks are rare in Polynesia, and if there are, they are not necessarily
reported to the press. However, no attack was dead today.
With Dispatch Tahiti

4-Aug-12
FRENCH POLYNESIA
Tuamotu group Kaukura Atoll
Spearfishing
M
Shoulder bitten
2.5m to 3m lemon shark
A. Brenneka Shark Attack Survivors; Les Nouvelles calédoniennes 9/6/2012