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10/22/2011 George Thomas Wainwright (Australia)*** Fatal ***

Shark Attack Related Incident News Archive for 2011 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents.
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alb
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Re: 10/22/2011 George Thomas Wainwright (Australia)*** Fatal

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Stuck anchor led to shark death
wainwright1.jpg
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The man who was diving with shark attack victim George Thomas Wainwright when he was killed said he saw his best friend's body float to the surface moments after seeing him alive.

Justin Branner was on a boat with his wife Allison off Rottnest Island on Saturday when the shark attacked the 32-year-old Texan.

Mr Branner said Mr Wainwright was his university buddy and had been a close friend for nine years.

He told Seven News last night that just before the attack their anchor became stuck on a rock and Mr Wainwright suited up to dive down to free it.

Although he did not see the attack, Mr Branner saw bubbles and then his mate's body float up. "It's something you don't want anyone to ever see," he said.

Mr Branner said being in the water was a mutual passion for the friends and they were inspired to scuba dive off Rottnest after seeing a YouTube video.

"Every chance we could get we did something on the water, that's where we spent our time," he said.

He was now concentrating on making sure his best friend's body was returned safely to the US.

"We don't want him to travel alone, so we will make sure he gets back to his family," he said.

Colin Barnett said yesterday there would be aerial shark patrols over Perth's coast daily until April 30 with patrols of South West beaches to begin in about a month.

The Premier said Surf Life Saving WA would use a helicopter to cover Mandurah to Yanchep for about four hours a day from 6.30am.

Rottnest would be included at weekends and public holidays after the attack on Saturday - WA's third shark death in seven weeks.

A second helicopter would be used by the end of next month from Bunbury to Margaret River.

Mr Barnett said there would be more frequent water patrols by lifesavers using dinghies and surf skis between 6am and 7.30am in Perth.

The increased air and sea patrols were the result of an extra $1 million from the Government.

"To have three fatal shark attacks in just the last few weeks is an unprecedented situation and it does call for urgent action," Mr Barnett said. It was important the public felt safe at WA beaches.

In Opposition in 2003, Mr Barnett called for shark patrols to begin earlier, at the start of September.

He said the patrols and their timing would be reviewed for next year.
Shadow fisheries minister Jon Ford said Labor would be flexible with the start times based on the season and demand. On a hot day before the official season, it was common sense to have patrols.


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alb
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Re: 10/22/2011 George Thomas Wainwright (Australia)*** Fatal

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George ''Thomas'' Wainwright, 32, of Houston, is the third person killed by a great white in Western Australia in two months
George ''Thomas'' Wainwright, 32, of Houston, is the third person killed by a great white in Western Australia in two months
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alb
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Re: 10/22/2011 George Thomas Wainwright (Australia)*** Fatal

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WA police name shark attack victim


Department of Fisheries have placed a number of baited hooks in the area but as yet there are no sign of the shark.

Police in Western Australia have released the name of a 32-year-old man who was killed by a shark while diving off Rottnest Island yesterday.

George Thomas Wainwright was attacked by the three metre shark while diving about 500 metres off shore at Little Armstrong Bay.

Friends of Mr Wainwright said the shark had nudged their vessel shortly after he was killed.

Mr Wainwright was a US citizen from Texas, but had been working in Australia for six months and living in North Beach.

His immediate family in America have been told of his death.

Western Australia's Department of Fisheries have placed a number of baited hooks in the area but as yet there are no sign of the shark.

Fisheries spokesman Tony Cappelluti says officers are working hard to catch the shark.

"There's six lines. Each of those lines contain one large shark hook and will be baited, and we will attempt to take a shark that's still in the vicinity," he said.

"Those lines will be set at the scene of the attack in the vicinity of the attack and we'll see how we go - probably reassess that somewhere around midday."

Water Police Senior Sergeant Greg Trew said police received a call on Saturday afternoon that the shark victim had surfaced in "a flurry of bubbles".

He said the US citizen had "fairly horrific injuries" and was believed to be dead when he was pulled from the water by his diving companions.

"It's traumatic for everyone involved, it's a tragic situation," he said.

Culls considered

Premier Colin Barnett says his government will consider shark culls in the future following a shark attack that killed an American man.

Yesterday's attack was the second in two weeks and the third in less than two months in Western Australian waters.

Mr Barnett described the man's death as "tragic" and ordered that the shark responsible to be caught and killed.

But he says the Government will be cautious when considering shark culls.

"We'll certainly look at that as a government, but I don't think we [should] rush into that. We'll look at the situation very carefully," he said.

Mr Barnett also said his government will review whether to increase the numbers of sharks that commercial fisherman were allowed to catch, following reports from fishermen that shark numbers had increased significantly.

"Sharks are natural predators, this is their domain. People are generally aware of the risk," he said.

He said his government would also look at increasing aerial shark patrols over popular WA beaches.

But the Premier noted that the latest attack occurred well off the shore where no patrols would operate.
Rottnest beaches are closed again today.


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alb
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Re: 10/22/2011 George Thomas Wainwright (Australia)*** Fatal

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Shark Attack In Australia Kills U.S. Man, Authorities Given Permission To Kill Predator

A shark who has killed a U.S. tourist off Perth, Western Australia on Saturday is being hunted by authorities.

The 32-year-old tourist is believed to have been diving off the popular Rottnest Island, 12.5 miles northwest of Perth, at Little Armstrong Bay, PerthNow reported.

The shark, described by the divers friends as a 9.8-foot great white, struck around 1.30pm (AWST).

Police said two of his friends watched in horror from a private 25-foot Bertram boat as they saw a "flurry of bubbles" in the water. Their friend's body surfaced shortly after with traumatic injuries.

The man had been living and working in Australia for six months, according to The West Australian.

The West Australian reports the Department of Fisheries has given permission to kill the shark and it is understood officers are laying bait.

"The decision has been made that if we capture the shark we will kill it," Department of Fisheries regional manager Tony Cappelluti said. "The intention is for us to set some gear at the site of the attack and see if we can capture the shark. The policy is that if there's a clear and present danger that we can take a great white," Fox News reported.

"The exemption to destroy sharks only applies in WA state waters in an area up to three nautical miles offshore and must be conducted under strict guidelines using a firearm," according to PerthNow.

The death is the fourth fatal shark attack in the area in 14 months.

Following reports that shark numbers had increased in WA, Premier Colin Barnett said his government would look into raising the number of sharks fishermen were allowed to catch, according to ABC Australia.

"Sharks are natural predators, this is their domain. People are generally aware of the risk," he said.

ABC Australia reported Barnett said he would look into "increasing shark patrols over popular WA beaches." However, the latest shark attack occurred offshore where no patrols would operate.

According to The West Australian Barnett said that August to November was "a risk period" and on days like Saturday, "grey, dull days," were the times when recent shark attacks seem to have occurred. He said the risk was greater for people out in deep waters diving and spear fishing.

64-year-old Perth resident Bryn Martin is believed to have been taken by a shark at one of Perth's most popular beaches on October 10, when he went swimming and never returned.

PETA recently launched a new ad targeting a fisherman who was attacked by a shark, and said, "Sharks are not the most dangerous predators on Earth, we are."

An annual report by the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File found that an average of five people per year are killed by sharks, while fishing fleets kill up to 70 million sharks per year.


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alb
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10/22/2011 George Thomas Wainwright (Australia)*** Fatal ***

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Great white shark kills diver in Australia

SYDNEY, October 22, 2011 (AFP) - An American diver is believed to be the latest victim of a fatal shark attack in Western Australia, police said Saturday, just days after a man vanished while swimming in waters off the state capital Perth.

The 32-year-old was on an unaccompanied dive off Rottnest Island off Perth when witnesses waiting for him on their boat noticed something amiss.

"A least one of them saw a large amount of bubbles," police sergeant Gerry Cassidy told AFP.

"And a short time later the deceased surfaced with obviously traumatic and fatal injuries."

One witness later saw a three-metre (10-foot) great white shark in the water.

Police were called and retrieved the body, believed to be that of a United States citizen studying in Australia, from the water about 500 metres (yards) northwest of Little Armstrong Bay. Details of the injuries were not known.

The death is thought to be the second fatal attack by a great white shark in Western Australia this month after a man failed to return from a swim at popular Cottesloe Beach on October 10.

Police divers later found the swimming trunks of 64-year-old Bryn Martin on the sea floor, and said the damage to them was consistent with a shark attack.

"Fisheries experts have viewed the bathers and were of the opinion the damage is consistent with what a white pointer shark could cause," local police official Neil Blair said at the time.

The deaths follow that of a bodyboarder from a shark attack near Dunsborough, also in Western Australia, last month.

That incident was the first fatal shark attack in the country since February, when a man diving for abalone was savaged off South Australia, and only the fourth since December 2008.

Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but fatal attacks are rare, with only 24 recorded deaths in the 20 years up to June 2009, or an average of just 1.2 shark-related deaths per year according to official data.

Great white sharks are large, rare marine predators which can grow to longer than 6.4 metres.

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