Shark expert warns more attacks likely

The warning was prompted by the narrow escape of a surfer who was bitten yesterday by one of the predators as he waited for a wave at a beach about 200km north of Sydney.
The man survived but suffered blood loss and severe injuries after the animal took a bite out of his backside, leaving a 20cm arc of punctures on his back.
"It was in a jaw shape with that perfect semi-circular arch,'' said rescue paramedic Angela Bosnjak.
Record shark sightings in the Newcastle region north of Sydney where yesterday's attack occurred and several attacks and sightings elsewhere have now raised concerns about a possible summer fatality.
Steve Bassick, who runs aerial shark-spotting tours in the Newcastle area, said he had seen as many as 28 white pointers in one trip and believed a fatal attack was imminent given the increased sightings.
"I've said that for the last few years and I won't back down from that," he said.
"When we're looking at Stockton Beach (near Newcastle) and you see the swimmers, the jet ski riders and some of the parasailers that are right in that proximity - there are plenty of people in the water."
The National Parks Association said increased shark activity on Australia's east coast was normal at the beginning of the southern hemisphere summer.
"There's always a record number of sightings at this time of year... it's when the school fish go up the coast and the sharks follow them,'' said New South Wales spokeswoman Valerie Taylor.
"There's probably more people in the water now than there used to be and the school fish and the sharks are coming in closer to the coastal areas, particularly off beaches."
The latest attack comes after a string of sightings and claims, including that last week of a man who said he was bitten on the elbow and forearm by a shark at Sydney's famous Bondi Beach.
Earlier this month, a resident of a surfing beach on Australia's southeastern coast said he had watched a shark kill a kangaroo swimming about 200m offshore.

Source: News.com.au December 19, 2007 02:20pm