Danielle McCarthy
International Travel

Great white shark jumps into fisherman’s boat

On Saturday afternoon, a 73-year-old fisherman had a close encounter with a great white shark who jumped onto his fishing boat.

Terry Selwood was two kilometres off the coast of Evans Head when the shark launched itself onto his 5.5 metre vessel.

The great white knocked Terry off his esky onto the deck, where they were eye-to-eye with each other as the shark thrashed about.

"There I was on all fours and he's looking at me and I'm looking at him, and then he started to do the dance around and shake, and I couldn't get out quick enough onto the gunnel [side of the boat]," Terry told the ABC.

A Department of Primary Industries spokeswoman confirmed that fisheries had identified the shark as a great white and it was estimated to be 2.7 metres long.

Terry was not bitten but has various cuts to his right arm from the shark’s rough skin.

Thankfully, Terry had the opportunity to reach for his radio and make a distress call which was received by Marine Rescue Evans Head.

Lance Fountain, a member of Marine Rescue Evans Head, explained that he and two other crew members immediately took a boat and found Terry "standing up on the port side ... covered in blood with numerous lacerations on his right forearm".

"A large shark was also found in the cabin of the not-so-large fishing boat," Lance said.

Terry was transferred to the rescue boat and his injuries were treated.

The fisherman explained to the Marine Rescue members the events that had unfolded and how the shark had launched itself from the water, cleared the engine and landed on the deck.

"In the process, it knocked the stunned 73-year-old fisherman onto the deck as well," Lance posted on the Marine Rescue Evans Head Facebook page.

"Fighting to get to his feet and as far away from the shark as possible, the fisherman was relentlessly knocked about the deck and cabin, which is where he sustained most of his injuries.

"Eventually the fisherman was able to clamber up onto the port side gunwale of the boat where he remained while the shark continued to thrash about the deck of the boat."

Once the rescue boat reached the shore, Terry was taken by NSW Ambulance paramedics to Lismore Base Hospital where he received stitches for his arm wounds.

The Marine Rescue team then went to Terry’s boat and towed it to shore with the shark on board.

The shark had died and its body was taken by Department of Primary Industries staff to do a necropsy.

Authorities believe it would have been impossible for Terry to have caught the 200kg shark as the fishing line he had for snapper only weighs 10kg.

A forklift removed the shark from the boat once it was brought to shore. 

Image credit: Marine Rescue NSW

Tags:
australia, fisherman, boat, shark, great white, Evans Head, Terry Selwood