I WON SHARK SCRAP
Warning after spear fisherman’s wild tussle with hammerhead
A CAIRNS spear fisherman has issued a warning to divers after miraculously surviving a hammerhead shark attack on the Great Barrier Reef.
Father-of-two Reece Pla was diving with friends around Otter Reef near Mission Beach on Sunday when he stumbled upon a sweet spot teeming with fish.
Two of his mates hopped in while their friend and designated “boatie” for the day, Darren Negro, ferried Mr Pla to another spot he had spied about 50m away. But then fishing took a frightening twist.
Mr Pla climbed back into the boat after shooting a big red emperor – his first after years of diving – before telling Mr Negro to check on their mates jumping back in.
“Without even looking or placing the spear back into the gun, I jumped back in, not realising a large hammerhead must have followed me back to the boat,” he said.
“Instantly I was face-to-face with it, and it just came straight for me. I jammed my unloaded speargun down its throat because that’s the only barrier of defence I had and thought, better the gun than my arm or body.”
The shark thrashed with the gun wedged down its throat, and Mr Pla’s chest copped a hammering from its head.
It eventually ripped the alloy gun from his grip.
“Now I had nothing between me and it. I had no choice but to try to get into the boat,” Mr Pla said.
Fortunately, Mr Negro had not left and was watching the terrifying ordeal unfold.
Mr Pla managed to grab his mate’s outstretched arm but the hammerhead latched on to the diving fins on his feet.
A tug of war ensued, with Mr Negro frantically stabbing at the shark with a loaded speargun while holding on to Mr Pla for dear life.
The diving fin eventually came loose and the estimated 3m shark was distracted for long enough for Mr Negro to hoist his mate into the boat.
“We raced over and picked the other two up because this shark was still hanging around,” Mr Pla said.
Mr Pla felt it important to share his story in light of recent attacks across Australia.
He believed he would not have survived without a designated boatie close by.
James Cook University researcher and filmmaker Richard Fitzpatrick said the shark would have been a great hammerhead, a species known for getting “excited” around spearfishing activities. He said there had been no recorded fatalities caused by hammerheads.