Victoria surfer brushes with shark at Port Campbell

Shark News

Mike Higgins received a seven centimetre gash to his right foot

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 13 June, 2012 : - - An Ocean Grove surfer will have a tall tale to tell after surviving a brush with a 1.5metre shark. The 42-year-old was surfing with friends at Port Campbell yesterday morning when he was attacked by the shark. He felt something brush against him in the water and turned to find the shark latched onto his foot.

Incredibly, he managed to free himself from the shark, with the unknown species leaving just a 7cm gash to the man's right foot. It's not the first time people have been attacked by sharks along the coastline, but according to Life Saving Victoria, it is a rare occurrence. ''There's plenty of sharks down there but the incidence of shark attack is very rarely reported,'' club development general manager Paul Shannon said. ''You always hear the surfer stories that there's a shark in the water but for this guy, luckily, it's just a good story to tell the grandkids.''

Shark attacks along the Surf Coast are certainly rare but not unheard of. In 2010, Barwon Heads doctor Pat Lockie was bitten on his right hand by a shark while he was surfing just 100m offshore from Thirteenth Beach. A shark also attacked surfer Peter Galvin in 2006 at Winkipop, near Bells Beach, resulting in the man bleeding from deep lacerations to his left leg.

There have been just 10 fatalities on record from shark attacks in Victoria, with the most recent death occurring in 1977 on the Mornington Peninsula.

Read the full article at Herald Sun

Source: Herald Sun

Tags: Port Campbell, Victoria, Shark Bites,

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