Don’t be beastly to sharks... pleads woman savaged by one off Penzance
Diver suffers worst attack of its kind for more than 100 years
A WOMAN bitten by a shark off Cornwall says she does not want the freak event to ‘tarnish the reputation of an already persecuted species’.
The victim described the attack – the worst of its kind in the UK for at least 100 years – as ‘very scary’.
She was on a snorkelling trip where fish bait was thrown in the water to lure blue sharks, one of which is believed to have bitten her leg. After the attack, ten miles off Penzance, the trip organiser administered immediate first aid before the woman was taken back to harbour and to hospital in Truro by ambulance. She was able to walk off the boat.
Trip organiser Victoria Walker, who runs Blue Shark Snorkel from Penzance harbour, said the company was talking to experts to understand why last Thursday’s attack happened. She issued a statement on behalf of the unnamed victim.
It said: ‘I just wanted to say that despite how the trip ended, it was amazing to see such majestic creatures in the wild.
‘I don’t for a second want this freak event to tarnish the reputation of an already persecuted species.
‘And I want to thank everyone for their amazing actions.
‘What was a very scary incident was made so much easier by the kindness and calmness of the people around me. Thank you to the trip team for getting me back to shore quickly and carefully and making me feel as safe as I possibly could. We all take these risks when we enter the habitat of a predator – and we can never completely predict the reactions of a wild animal.’
The victim’s current condition is not known. Last night Miss Walker said: ‘We immediately enacted our emergency response plan, with first aid being carried out on the person involved.
‘Following advice and assessment from the coastguard, the person walked off the boat and received further treatment ashore.’
Miss Walker, who wants to ‘help people overcome their fear of sharks’, added: ‘ These occurrences can be blown out of control without a clear understanding and scientific back-up.
‘They are extremely rare and can be easily misunderstood.
‘These things can happen when we choose to interact with wild animals in their own environment. The last thing we want is to let speculation drive the media into a world of bad press for the sharks, under no fault of their own.’
Blue Shark Snorkel charges £180 a person for day-long trips on the Celtic Fox as it seeks out the predators. Miss Walker, a photographer RUGH who also organises whale watching excursions overseas, lures blue sharks with fish bait, and claims that up to a dozen are attracted to the boat on some trips.
Snorkellers are told how ‘ in detail’ to swim safely with the sharks, including an instruction to
Organiser: Victoria Walker runs trips on the Celtic Fox, far left, to swim with blue sharks, left wear only black wetsuits and masks, covering bright patches.
However, they are warned: ‘These are wild animals. They’re beautiful and charismatic, but they are apex predators.
‘We provide the guidance and advice but you swim with them knowing there is a risk.’
Insurance covers divers only ‘when you are in the boat’.
A local shark fisherman said yesterday that he saw ‘ massive’ blue sharks at the same spot the day before the bite incident.
Shark attacks in UK waters are extremely rare. This is thought to be the worst on a swimmer since September 1922, when an assistant schoolmaster was killed off Hornsea in east Yorkshire in what is believed to be Britain’s only fatal shark attack.
The victim had been paddling with his wife and a friend when the tide swept him out.
He was seen to throw his hands up and shout.
His body was recovered at low tide with a large ragged wound, with toothmarks, on his left side.
An inquest heard he had been bitten twice by powerful dogfish or a shark.
‘Reactions of a wild animal’