01/02/2012 Hugo Silva - Australia -

[sharkbait]

**2012 shark attacks and related incidents Hugo survived an encounter with a large shark off Duranbah Beach Australia**

Hugo escapes shark attack

REPORTS a mysterious waterman survived an encounter with a large shark off Duranbah Beach yesterday have spread like wildfire through the Coast's surfing community.

Known to the local surf community as 'Hugo', the man was spear fishing near the rock wall on the southern side of Duranbah when he encountered the shark.

A surfer who spoke to Hugo in the water after the attack said the diver had puncture wounds in his flipper from where the shark attacked.

"He is a real hellman spear fisherman and he was out near the rocks. He said he had noticed a few bullsharks," the surfer said.

"But he said a four-metre tiger shark hit him in the back and took his weight belt.

"It came back around with the weight belt in its mouth and he said that's when it had a go at the flipper."

Lifeguards were alerted to the presence of a shark around 9am and set off a shark warning alarm before heading out to tell other surfers.

It is understood Hugo suffered no serious injuries from the encounter.

Scott McCartney, Northern NSW region lifeguard co-ordinator said lifeguards at Duranbah followed protocol for a shark sighting and kept a lookout for the creature.

News of the incident spread quickly on social media, with surfers across the Coast made aware of the attack.

Locals at Duranbah beach yesterday who had heard of the encounter seemed unconcerned.

One local, who had brought his daughter to the beach for a surf, questioned the type of shark involved in the attack.

"You wouldn't see a tiger shark off here, a bull shark yes but not a tiger," he said.

But according to surfing folklore, an old tiger shark has made the popular beach its home and patrolled the waters near Duranbah for years.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/