Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents News Articles on Shark Bites

Shark attacks Avalon surfer

Shark victim Michael Geraghty with his wife Judy.


AVALON man Michael Geraghty is recovering after being attacked by a shark while surfing in Dubai the first known shark attack in the Middle Eastern emirate.

Mr Geraghty, 54, was surfing on Saturday at Umm Suqeim, on the exclusive Jumeirah Beach, coastline when he was attacked by the shark, which dragged him off his surfboard.

He sustained deep wounds to his foot, a few broken toes and lost a lot of blood, his wife Judy said yesterday.

``He’s out of hospital and he’s doing quite well,’’ she said. ``But the attack has sent a shockwave through the Middle East.’’

Mrs Geraghty said her husband’s main concern now was that the authorities would ban surfing again. She said they banned it a while ago because of its non-conformist attitude but later lifted the ban.

``Now he’s hoping they won’t ban it again,’’ she said. ``I was watching a movie when he sent me a message saying the surf was 4-5 foot. Then I got a message from him saying `hospital, shark attack, ring you later’.

``He felt something pull him off his board and he initially thought his foot had been caught in some kind of debris. Then he saw swirling in the water and it went red. The water there is milky white and quite murky, so you can’t see what’s underneath the surface.

``He lost so much blood he was barely conscious when they got him back to the beach. He’s fine now he went straight from the hospital back to his office but it was a bit of a shock for him.’’

The family has businesses in Dubai and Malaysia shredding palm tree trunks for mulch and they lived for many years in Malaysia.

Mrs Geraghty said the couple’s three children were used to their father’s adventures and misadventures so their daughter Lily, on hearing of the attack, said “Oh, what will he do next’’.

``It’s possible it was a tiger shark and Michael is going to send photos of the bite marks to a marine biologist to see if he can identify it,’’ Mrs Geraghty said.


http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/ne ... on-surfer/

Michael Geraghty (54) suffered an apparent shark bite to his foot while surfing off Dubai’s Umm Suqeim beach.

Shark bites Dubai surfer

Wednesday 27 Jan, 2010

A surfer has been bitten by a shark just off Dubai’s Umm Suqeim beach.

Australian Michael Geraghty needed stitches and hospital treatment for a wound to his foot that he suffered as a result of the attack.

However, experts have told the public not to be alarmed as, although sightings of sharks are common in the Gulf, such attacks are extremely rare.

Geraghty told 7DAYS that he was riding the waves on Saturday when he was pulled from his surfboard.

When he looked down, he was shocked to see blood colouring the water.

“I felt something yank me from the board,” he said. “When I looked around I could see there was a lot of blood but I didn’t feel anything at first. I assumed I’d caught my leg on some floating debris or junk.”

The shocked 54-year-old was taken to Rashid Hospital’s emergency department where doctors told him there were teeth marks around the big gash across the ball of his foot.

“The doctor said it was definitely a bite and you can see the marks,” he said.

“As far as I know it’s extremely unusual - 99.9 per cent of surfers have never been bitten by a shark.”

The founder of research project Shark Quest Arabia, Jonathon Ali Khan, said shark attacks in the Arabian Gulf were “exceptionally rare”. And he said that even though dangerous species such as tiger, hammerhead and bull sharks have been spotted in UAE waters, he suspected that whatever attacked Geraghty was a lot less dangerous.

“Because the injury was not serious, it’s unlikely to have been one of the more dangerous types even though they are
typically more aggressive,” he said.
“It’s possible it was a baby or one of the local species, like a black tip, just being curious and having a taste.”

http://www.7days.ae/storydetails.php?id ... i%20surfer