Incident Report
Spearfisher Severely Injured by Bronze Whaler off Coral Bay, WA
A 43-year-old spearfisher was bitten by a bronze whaler approximately 2 kilometres offshore from Fourteen Mile Beach near Coral Bay, Western Australia on July 8, 2024. His companion applied a tourniquet and brought him ashore, where he received emergency care and was later flown to Perth for surgery.
Please take a moment to consider the human impact of this event on the victim and their loved ones. The data presented here documents real events that affected real people and families.
Why this is notable
The victim's friend improvised a tourniquet from anchor rope and extracted him from the water two kilometres offshore, representing a documented act of effective emergency improvisation and rescue under remote conditions.
Incident Profile
Circumstances
Environmental
Individual
Location
Description
On the morning of July 8, 2024, a 43-year-old man was spearfishing in open water approximately two kilometres offshore from Fourteen Mile Beach Camp near Coral Bay, Western Australia, when he encountered a shark. The incident occurred at 11:18 a.m. local time. The spearfisher was carrying a freshly caught fish at the time of the encounter. The victim reported that the shark appeared to be a bronze whaler measuring between 1 and 2 metres in length, though fisheries officials noted the species identification remained under investigation pending further assessment. Following the bite, a nearby friend, Matthew Watson, responded immediately by retrieving the injured man from the water. Watson applied an improvised tourniquet fashioned from anchor rope to control bleeding, then beached their vessel near the camp. A site caretaker transported the victim overland to the Coral Bay Nursing Post, where initial medical assessment and stabilisation were provided. He was subsequently airlifted to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, where he underwent surgery for his injuries and remained in stable condition. Environmental factors may have contributed to the incident. Earlier that day, authorities had reported a whale carcass drifting near Point Cloates, approximately 60–63 kilometres north of the incident site, and warned that such biological material could attract sharks closer to shore. Additionally, a member of the public reported observing an unidentified shark approximately five metres from shore shortly after the incident. Following the occurrence, Fourteen Mile Beach remained open to the public, with shark warning signs posted for several days as a precautionary measure. The incident was classified as unprovoked and resulted in severe injuries, though the spearfisher's life was preserved through prompt first aid and emergency medical response.