Story to tell: Max Carey shows the area of his arm where he was bitten by a grey nurse shark at Tomaree. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers
It is the stuff of nightmares – from out of nowhere the figure of a shark appears and latches itself onto one of your limbs.
That was the scenario that Max Carey found himself in while participating in a spearfishing competition at Tomaree last week.
The 18-year-old and his father Aaron Carey had noticed about six grey nurse sharks lingering in their vicinity while they were fishing early in the afternoon.
In an attempt to divert the sharks’ interest they deposited their catch in their boat before returning to the water at about 2pm.
Mr Carey was swimming about 30 metres from the boat when he felt pressure on his arm – applied by a three-metre female grey nurse shark.
“I didn’t see it … It came from behind and underneath me,” he said.
“It was only on me for a second and let go. Thankfully I was wearing a wetsuit and it didn’t shake around.”
His father, who was also in the water, helped him back to the boat and drove him to the Tomaree Medical Centre.
Mr Carey’s wound, consisting of two rows of neat puncture marks, did not require stitches. Instead, he was treated with antibiotics.
“They have a lot of bacteria on their teeth so the biggest concern was infection,” he said.
Calling card: The bite mark on Mr Carey's arm. He was treated with antibiotics as a precaution against infection. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers.
Calling card: The bite mark on Mr Carey’s arm. He was treated with antibiotics as a precaution against infection. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers.
Mr Carey said he was aware of the general risk of spearfishing around sharks, however, he was still surprised by the attack.
“Every sport has its risks,” he said.
“The only other time I have had trouble with a shark was when a bull shark chased me to the shore.
“We knew they were around. Grey nurses are normally pretty tame; I guess that shark was a bit rowdy.”
The grey nurse shark, also known as the sand tiger shark or spotted ragged-tooth shark, can grow to 3.6 metres long.
They are often found just above the sea bed or in deep, sandy-bottomed gutters or rocky caves, such those around Broughton Island or Tomaree headland.
Despite its fearsome appearance, grey nurse sharks are not generally considered a threat to swimmers or divers unless they are provoked.
Current threats to the species include being caught as bycatch other shark fisheries, recreational fishing and also beach meshing.
Fisheries research conducted in the Port Stephens estuary in 2017 found the area contained more sharks than previously thought.
Close encounter: A grey nurse shark with an electronic tag attached to its fin swimming at Port Stephens. Picture: Department of Primary Industries.
Close encounter: A grey nurse shark with an electronic tag attached to its fin swimming at Port Stephens. Picture: Department of Primary Industries.
Many of them were found in waters less than 100 metres away from swimmers at places such as Fly Point.
The majority of the sharks in the estuary were detected between October and January, with the largest number occurring in November.
Juvenile sharks were found closer to the shore.
https://www.sharkattacks.net/04-27-2019-max-carey
04/27/2019 - Max Carey - Australia
We list all 2019 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2019 or Attack these include attacks and other shark related incidents for ocean goers safety...
04/27/2019 - Max Carey - Australia
We have another tool we are building at https://sharkattacks.net
Return to “2019 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents”
Jump to
- All Years of Reported Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2024 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2023 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2022 Latest Shark Attacks Recent Shark Attacks 2022
- ↳ 2021 Shark Attacks Recent Shark Attack in 2021
- ↳ 2020 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2019 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2018 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents 2018
- ↳ 2017 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2017 or Attack
- ↳ 2016 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2016 or Attack
- ↳ 2015 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2015 or Shark Bite
- ↳ 2014 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2014 or Attack
- ↳ 2013 Shark Attacks Recent Shark Attacks 2013
- ↳ 2012 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
- ↳ 2011 Shark Attack and Related Incidents
- ↳ 2010 Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2009 Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2008 Shark Attacks ~ Shark Attacks 2008
- ↳ 2007 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 2006 Reported Shark Accidents
- ↳ 2005 Reported Shark Incidents
- ↳ 2004 Reported Shark Encounters
- ↳ 2003 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 2002 Reported Shark Bites
- ↳ 2001 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 2000 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 1990 - 1999 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
- ↳ 1980 - 1989 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
- ↳ 1970 - 1979 Shark Attack and Related Incidents
- ↳ 1969 and Earlier Shark Attack Incidents