Incident Report
Spearfisher Encounters Grey Reef Shark off Coral Bay, Western Australia
coral bay coast, Western Australia·Australia
A 19-year-old male spearfisher encountered a 1.75-meter grey reef shark off Coral Bay in Western Australia in June 2016. The incident resulted in no injury to the diver.
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Incident Profile
Individual
Location
Description
In June 2016, a spearfishing incident occurred off the Coral Bay coast in Western Australia involving a grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) measuring approximately 1.75 meters in length. The 19-year-old male spearfisher was operating in open ocean pelagic waters when the encounter took place. Despite the interaction with the shark species, the diver sustained no injuries during the incident. This encounter illustrates the occasional overlap between human recreational diving activities and shark habitat in Western Australian coastal waters, where grey reef sharks are native species commonly found in deeper reef environments.