"Shark Attack Survivors News Archive"

12/16/2004 Nick Peterson (Australia) ***Fatal***

Shark Attack Survivors News Archive for Shark Attacks in 2004.
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sharkbait
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Re: 12/16/2004 Nick Peterson (Australia) ***Fatal***

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Memorial surf event at Middleton

MAKING WAVES ... Brett Edwards travelled from Adelaide to the South Coast on Saturday to compete in the inaugural Shark Shield Nick Peterson Classic.


SURFING: South Australia's top surfers took to the water at Middleton on Saturday to remember shark attack victim Nick Peterson.
The inaugural Shark Shield Nick Peterson Classic attracted 46 elite surfers who competed on the waves in three different divisions.

A memorial heat was also held in which approximately 20 surfers paddled out into the water and formed a large circle in remembrance of Nick.

Organiser of the event, Chris Bosley, said the day went really smoothly and much better than anticipated, so much so that he hopes it will now become an annual event.

The surfing event raised over $3000 for the Nick Peterson Foundation and Surf Life Saving SA.

Approximately 150-200 people attended the presentations at the Middleton Tavern following the event and there were many more spectating throughout the day.

Chris said everyone who came to the event seemed to have a great day and were treated to some amazing surfing by the state's top surfers.


Results

Nick Peterson Open Men's Division

1st - Dion Atkinson

2nd - Todd Goudie

3rd - Joe McGregor

4th - Clayton Howse

Shark Shield Open Women's Division:

1st - Lisa Dry

2nd - Jessica Atkinson

3rd - Carla Biddle

4th - Katie Langley

Mid Coast Surf Junior Division:

1st - Khai Adams

2nd - Ryan Boahm

3rd - Kale Brock

4th - Wade Gnys


http://victorharbor.yourguide.com.au/ne ... 82919.html
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2 sharks attack Aussie teen 16/12/2004 10:30 - (SA)

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2 sharks attack Aussie teen 16/12/2004 10:30 - (SA)

Adelaide, Australia - A teenager has vanished after being attacked by two sharks on Thursday off a popular beach in the southern Australian city of Adelaide, authorities said.

The 18-year-old man had fallen from a surfboard being towed by a power boat when the two sharks attacked off West Beach mid afternoon, South Australia state Sea Rescue Squadron spokesperson Fraser Bell said.

Bell said there had been no sign of the man since, despite police and emergency services officers scouring the beach.

State Police Chief Inspector David Lusty said police were using boats to search the coastline but had found no trace of the victim. All Adelaide's city beaches were shut after the apparent tragedy.

Bell said four friends from Adelaide had been out on the water for about 30 minutes when the sharks attacked. The three boys in the tow boat were aged 16.

The apparent tragedy would be the second shark fatality in Australian waters within a week.

A man was killed by a shark while spearing fish on the Great Barrier Reef off northeast Australia on Saturday.
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12/16/2004 Nick Peterson (Australia) ***Fatal***

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12/16/2004 Nick Peterson 18 Fatal Adelaide South Australia Australia
Scurfing (surfboard being towed behind a boat) 3:15:00 PM 4.5 m & 5 m white shark
sharkbait
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'Nick's gift' fights new shark attacks
Jeremy Roberts
September 02, 2005
THE father of shark attack victim Nick Peterson calls Adelaide's new surf rescue helicopter "Nick's gift".

"The water should never run red again," Philip Peterson said.

In the eight months since two great white sharks killed Nick just 200m off Adelaide's West Beach, Mr Peterson has reflected on the attack.

"The sharks were working together and had tuned into the pitch of the propeller of the boy's boat," Mr Peterson said.

"It was not an exploratory bite -- the sharks came up from the bottom and thought they were attacking a seal."

The attack on Nick occurred on a weekday in front of a packed beach and in temperatures above 30C, but shark spotting aircraft were absent -- ordered to patrol city beaches on the weekends only.

Police had observed sharks eating schools of whiting off West Beach in the weeks before the attack.

Surf Lifesaving South Australia manager Shane Daw, who is also a helicopter pilot. said such conditions would scramble the helicopter to look for sharks.

"We will monitor the popularity of beaches, the weather and the presence of schools of fish, and if necessary launch patrols," Mr Daw said.

The Eurocopter Squirrel chopper was equipped with a loudspeaker and a winch and harness that could be deployed in seconds to left anyone in trouble out of the water.

Mr Daw said the helicopter gave surf lifesavers the ability to "look into the water" and would patrol off the beaches to a range of 600m.

The danger of shark attacks off Adelaide was reinforced last week when Adelaide University marine biologist Jarrod Stehbens was killed while diving 5km off Glenelg beach. The attack happened at the same time of day and about 6km from the strike on Nick Peterson.

The attack on Stehbens followed a day of heavy recreational fishing in the waters in which he was diving.

Ty Wheeler, a close friend of Nick Peterson who witnessed his death, suggested yesterday that great whites were coming closer to shore because they were attracted by fishing boats.

"People are teaching sharks to come close to boats for food," he said. "Sharks aren't stupid animals -- we have to look at what is bringing them close to shore."

The helicopter patrols will run on weekends from November to March, and during the week depending on conditions.

The helicopter is backed by Westpac and several other corporate sponsors, but has not attracted specific funding from the state Government.

However, the Government funds the Aldinga Aero Club with $100,000 a year to patrol beaches south of Adelaide.

Surf Lifesaving South Australia was rebuffed by the Government last week when it asked for the AAC money to go to the helicopter service instead.

A spokesman for state Emergency Services Minister Carmel Zollo said the decision on whether to continue funding the AAC this summer would be made within weeks.
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Shark tears teen surfer in half


17.12.04


ADELAIDE - Friends watched two great white sharks attack and kill their 18-year-old surfer mate off an Adelaide beach yesterday.

Nick Peterson was taken by the sharks while surfboarding behind a boat at West Beach, about 10km west of Adelaide city centre.

One shark attacked Mr Peterson after he fell from the surfboard, tearing him in half, authorities said.

The other shark took the youth's remains.

It was the second fatal shark attack in Australian waters in a week.

A Great Barrier Reef spearfisher died last Saturday after a shark bit his leg.

Police and South Australian emergency services said there had been no sign of the Mr Peterson or the sharks since the attack, which happened about 3.30pm.

SA Sea Rescue Squadron spokesman Frasier Bell said one of the white pointers was believed to be about 5m long and the other about 4.5m.

The attack happened 200m to 300m offshore on a hot day at a crowded beach. "He fell off the surfboard and the shark appeared and took him," Mr Bell said.

"It tore him apart."

Mr Peterson was being towed by a boat containing three 16-year-old friends, two of whom witnessed the attack.

The four, all from Adelaide's western suburbs, had been on the water for just 30 minutes before the attack occurred.

"They were just boys having a good time, the weather was perfect and they were just out doing what young lads do," Mr Bell said.

The teenagers tried in vain to rescue their mate.

"They tried everything they could think of but unfortunately the sharks had taken him by that stage.



"They're in deep shock. They're wrecks. You can just imagine what the victim's parents are going to go through."

Chief Inspector David Lufty of South Australia police said beaches in the West Beach area would be closed as the search for the killer sharks continued.

He said that in the two hours immediately after the attack no items of significance were found, lending weight to the belief that Mr Peterson was killed instantly.

Mr Bell said there had been recent reports of shark sightings off Adelaide's metropolitan coast, with the sea squadron issuing a shark warning a couple of weeks ago.
sharkbait
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Father of killed Aussie surfer says sea is 'shark's domain'


18.12.04


The father of a surfer killed by a great white shark off an Adelaide beach does not want it destroyed, saying the ocean is the animal's domain.

As authorities ordered the 5m long shark to be found and destroyed, Philip Peterson, the father of 18-year-old victim Nick Peterson, said his son admired and respected sharks.

Nick Peterson was killed instantly when he was attacked by the shark as he was towed behind a boat on a surfboard just 300 metres off Adelaide's popular metropolitan West Beach yesterday.

"It came up from nowhere -- he didn't see it for a second before it happened," Adam Floreani, one of three 16-year-old friends in the boat who watched the horrific attack, told Channel Seven.

The friends said Mr Peterson had fought for his life, hitting the shark as it took him away.

"He went down fighting -- he didn't give up," said Mr Floreani.

Police initially believed they had found some of Mr Peterson's remains today but tests later showed they were not human tissue.

Philip Peterson today visited West Beach with his wife Leonie to see where their son died.

He said the decision to destroy the shark was "out of my hands".

"We acknowledge that the sea is, in fact, the shark's domain.

"We don't, and I certainly personally don't, advocate the indiscriminate killing of any shark. They are to be admired, appreciated and respected, and Nick knew that."

Great whites are a protected species, but a meeting today of government, police, fisheries and coast guard officials ordered the killer shark be found and destroyed.

"Any shark posing a threat or risk to human life ... should be destroyed, that is unequivocal," acting SA Premier Kevin Foley said.

He defended inaction over a sighting last week of a shark, believed to be the one involved in yesterday's killing, at an adjoining beach to West Beach.

"Should action have been taken earlier? Every summer we are confronted with that dilemma," Mr Foley said.

"We don't know at all whether the shark that took this poor victim was the shark that was sighted last week.

"What we don't want is a standard culling approach to great white sharks at the beginning of every summer."

Several sightings of the killer shark were made near West Beach today as about 50 emergency service boats, supported by helicopters, searched for the animal and any remains of Nick Peterson.

Mr Peterson said the death of his son, an experienced ocean-goer, should prompt more funding to make beaches safer from shark attack.

"I am concerned, as are the family, that there will be a number of (ocean) activities in a very warm period in the ensuing days," he said.

Uncertainty arose today whether one or two sharks were involved in the attack, in which a shark grabbed the surfer by an arm and pulled him from the board.

Nick Peterson's three friends, Mr Floreani, Ty Wheeler and Andrew Tomlin, told authorities two sharks were involved in the attack.

However SA Sea Rescue Squadron spokesman Fraser Bell said today authorities were searching for one shark.

West suburban beaches remained open today as temperatures reached 35 degrees celsius amid police warnings to the public.

"People who use our waters need to consider the risk of shark attacks," SA Police Commissioner Mal Hyde said.

"But unfortunately it's the case that people forget very quickly.

"Within about 20 minutes of people being alerted to get out of the water yesterday at West Beach, some people were going back in again."

But Surf Lifesaving South Australia chief Shane Daw said it was inevitable the numbers of beachgoers would now fall.

"We have got to be realistic - there are going to be fears," Mr Daw said.
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