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myscubastory
02-20-2011, 08:18 PM
Weather conditions have affected search efforts for an abalone diver that was taken by sharks while diving south of Perforated Island near Coffin Bay, late yesterday.

Police were able to send out several boats, but the search plane remained grounded because of heavy rain, low cloud and strong winds.
"Today a search has been conducted around the Coffin Bay and Avoid Bay area, we have land and also sea searches," Senior Sergeant Mick Walsh said.
"Unfortunately, owing to the weather conditions, it is very difficult owing to visibility and the continual rain." "However there are two vessels out there searching at present and also there is a land search being conducted by SES and police services," "If the conditions do improve there will be air support in the afternoon and we are still waiting on instructions as to how that will go," he said.

Police say the diver was returning to the surface on Thursday afternoon when two sharks, believed to be great whites, attacked him.
"The diver came to the surface and the skipper observed two sharks attack the male diver and pulled him under the water," Senior Sergeant Walsh said.
"There was nothing else sighted, the skipper stayed in the area for a considerable amount of time, he then returned to shore and raised alert with the authorities," he said.

"The Southern Ranger, which is a fisheries vessel was in the area and was able to quickly deploy and search a limited area until daylight ceased."It's been reported by Swellnet.com.au that the diver taken in the attack was cowrie shell expert Peter Clarkson.Mr Clarkson was from Esperance in Western Australia, but spent part of the Abalone fishing season living in Port Lincoln.The skipper on board the boat was 53 year-old Howard Rodd who has worked with Mr Clarkson for several years diving and shelling in the region.

Police have said he was treated for shock and is now assisting them with their inquiries.He is believed to have told ambulance officers "I saw the beast come up and take him. There's no way he could have survived," according to News Limited reports.

It is not the first time Mr Rodd has experienced tragedy at sea.In 2000 a boat he was on capsized and the only other person on board decided to remain with the stricken vessel before perishing in what was believed to be a shark attack.At the time of the incident Mr Rodd vowed 'never to go to sea again'.In August last year, Mr Clarkson wrote about a close encounter with a great white shark in a testimonial promoting the use of a shark deterrent system.

"I was making a slow ascent when I realised that I was no longer alone. Ten metres away, swimming vertically at the same rate as myself, was a great white shark," the 50-year-old wrote on Swellnet.com.au."It was a scenario I had rehearsed in my mind a thousand times during the 27 years I have been diving, but this was the first shark of this species that I had encountered underwater."

"To say that I felt safe would be an overstatement - one feels very vulnerable dangling solo off a line in 50m water in the presence of a 4m Great White Shark - but the SharkShield gave me the confidence to complete my decompression and avoid a possible incidence of the bends."

It is not yet known if Mr Clarkson was wearing the SharkShield when he was taken, but police have confirmed he wasn't diving in a cage.Executive Officer for the Abalone Industry Association of South Australia, Samara Miller, said after the association was alerted to Mr Clarkson's attack they contacted all other divers in the area.

"We have an emergency response protocol that we activated yesterday and part of that was alerting other divers, so we were able to contact them very quickly as well as the local police and PIRSA fisheries," she said.

Ms Miller said Mr Clarkson had been Abalone diving in the area for '20 - 25' years and he was well aware of the risks involved."There’s always interactions each year with white sharks, divers do as much as they can to reduce that interaction - It’s a calculated risk and diver’s make the call on the day." she said.

Port Lincoln shark cage diver, Andrew Fox, knew Mr Clarkson and said he was a very experienced diver.

"He’s dived thousands of hours around this area, he knows every reef like the back of his hand and the whole diving community knows him as a very nice guy.""Peter’s very experienced with Sharks, he’s had a lot of encounters with them before and he knows the area and he was certainly doing something he loved in this area and he knew all about it," he said.

Since 1985, 11 people have been killed by sharks in South Australian waters

This is quite a sad story - especially if the guy managed to escape a shark attack before.

I found the original article on http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/8866530/experienced-diver-taken-by-sharks/

acelockco
02-21-2011, 04:54 AM
Sharks don't hunt in pairs or groups.

In my best pirate voice "RRRR Me wonders what ye BEAST was....rrrrr...must be the shark of great white......rrrrr." , but as soon as the news crew leaves.....the voice changes to high pitched voice with a lisp "treat me for shock you big sexy nurse men....I saw some crazy sh*t boyz and I think I am due for a treatment.....giggle giggle giggle"


I wonder what really happened?