Diver fends off great white

A PHYSICAL encounter with a 5m great white shark has prompted the Tasmanian Abalone Council to send a warning to other divers.

On May 7 an abalone diver kept himself safe from a shark for 20 minutes before managing to make it safely back to his boat, when diving alone at a depth of 14m near Maatsuyker Island Coast.

Tasmanian Abalone Council CEO Dean Lisson said the first encounter between the diver and shark occurred when the diver pushed off the bottom with his bag of abalone and collided with the shark, which was circling above him.

The shark then came at him at greater speed and Mr Lisson said the diver was struggling off Tasmania’s South for 20 minutes as he was repeatedly bumped by the shark while hanging on to bull kelp to keep him close to the bottom and as horizontal as possible.

“Most divers who have been in the abalone industry for a few years have at some point encountered a great white shark,” Mr Lisson said. “What is rare is physical contact between shark and diver.

“One of the more compelling aspects of this particular incident is the cool, calm and collected way in which the diver handled the situation.”

Mr Lisson said the diver managed to turn what could easily have been a fatal mistake into a near miss.

“While fending off the shark, the diver lost his bearings and without realising, swam into deeper water,” he said. “Understandably, it took all of his willpower not to make a dash for the surface.”

The deckhand on the boat, aware something was wrong, threw a dropline to the diver, who used the attached underwater pen and plastic to send a message to the deckhand to orient the vessel towards the shore so he knew in which direction to swim.

Mr Lisson said the diver was then able to swim far enough towards the shore so he was able to make a dash to the vessel and climb aboard. After trying to relax from the rattling experience, the diver went diving again later that day.

The Tasmanian Abalone Council issued a safety alert to all members, urging divers to have an underwater slate with them, agree on a signal method with their deckhand and use a deterrent such as a shark shield.