A 35-year-old spearfisherman became Australia’s third shark victim in just four weeks.
The incident took place on Saturday, June 6, after the man was hit by Michaelmas Island near the port city of Albany in the state of Western Australia.
It was while he was out fishing with relatives that the incident took place around noon, according to police reports. His body was then brought to Albany via boat, where he could not be revived by doctors on arrival.
This latest spate of fatalities stands out even in a country where an average of three people die from shark bites annually.
Previously, a 39-year-old was killed on May 24, 2026. The victim, identified as Michael Jensz, suffered irreversible head injuries in an attack on the Great Barrier Reef. A week earlier, on May 16, a white shark measuring 13 feet long had killed 38-year-old spearfisherman Steve Mattabonni in the waters around Rottnest Island, northwest of Albany.
The second and final fatal shark attack in Australia this year occurred in January, when a 12-year-old boy died from a bull shark mauled in Sydney Harbour.
Scientists believe that the increasing shark attacks are due to changes in migration patterns due to the rising temperature of the ocean and increasingly crowded patterns. As reported by the International Shark Attack File, more than 1,280 shark attacks have been recorded since 1791.
