Here is a fish story. Fishing boat attacked by great white shark off Australian coast
Tuesday, December 12 2:47 PM SGT
ADELAIDE, Australia, Dec 12 (AFP) -
A great white shark attacked a fishing boat and forced it out of the water off Australia's south coast near the scene of at least
two recent fatal shark attacks, police said Tuesday.
The 4.5 metre (14 foot) shark attacked the boat and tried to take its catch as two men fished for whiting three kilometres (two
miles) off Port Victoria, on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula on Monday.
Police said the shark tried to snatch a bag of fish as the two fishermen pulled it in at the stern of the 3.5 metre (11 foot)
fibreglass boat.
"The shark then nudged the side of the boat, flicking it with its tail," a police spokesman said. "Again it returned, this time rising
beneath the boat and balancing it."
One of the fishermen, Harry Ulbrich, said it was a lucky escape.
"I tell you what, my mate was lucky," he told ABC radio. "He just grabbed the bag and the shark just missed him."
The pair raised their anchor, fled the area and reported the incident to authorities.
The latest attack followed three, probably four, fatal shark attacks on the Australian coast in the last three months.
A New Zealand tourist was killed by a great white while surfing at Cactus Beach in South Australia on September 24.
The following day a 17-year-old local surfer was killed when he was dragged off his surfboard by another great white off
Blacks Point, South Australia.
On November 6, a 49-year-old man was taken by a great white at Perth's Cottesloe beach in Western Australia.
And police believe a 47-year-old abalone diver, presumed lost off the South Australian coast after his boat overturned last
month, may have become the fourth shark victim in recent months.
Monday's incident prompted another warning to the public to take care while swimming and boating in the Spencer Gulf.
A 2.5 metre shark was spotted swimming around the town jetty of South Australia's Port Victoria on November 25, prompting
the local council to close the jetty and erect signs warning of the danger.
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