A 39-year-old man has died after being attacked by a shark off the coast of Far North Queensland.

The man was at Kennedy Shoal, a submerged reef about 40km offshore and roughly halfway between Mission Beach and Cardwell, when he was attacked.

He was pulled from the water but died from his injuries.

His body was later transported by boat to the Hull Heads Boat Ramp, about 160km south of Cairns, following the attack.

Police are preparing a report for the coroner.

Mission Beach fishing charter operator Gererd Pike said he was with a group not far from the scene of the fatal attack.

‘The sharks were vicious today,’ he told the Courier Mail.

‘We watched a group of six of them tear a Spanish mackerel apart only about 4m from our boat.’

A man is fighting for life following a shark attack in Far North Queensland
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A man is fighting for life following a shark attack in Far North Queensland


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Commercial fisherman Chris Bolton (pictured) said in the past 10 years, he had witnessed a sharp increase in 'mongrel' species, including bull sharks and pig eye sharks
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Commercial fisherman Chris Bolton (pictured) said in the past 10 years, he had witnessed a sharp increase in ‘mongrel’ species, including bull sharks and pig eye sharks

Authorities have yet to confirm the exact species of shark.

However, Kurrimine Beach commercial fisherman Chris Bolton said that, in the past 10 years, he had witnessed a sharp increase in ‘mongrel’ species, including bull sharks and pig eye sharks.

‘They’ve just taken over, they’re all over the waters around that Tully Mission Beach area but up the coast too,’ he told the Courier Mail.

‘We know they’re smart animals and with the amount of recreational fishing happening, they’re learning to follow boat motors because that means food.

‘And the more food they get, the more the population just grows. Unfortunately I think (shark-human) stuff will only happen more frequently.’

The tragedy marks Australia’s second fatal shark attack in a week.

Perth father-of-two Steven Mattaboni, 38, was killed in a horror shark attack off Rottnest Island last Saturday morning.

Mr Mattaboni was spearfishing with friends near Horseshoe Reef off Geordie Bay when he was attacked by a shark believed to have been a great white.

The attack happened at about 10am while he was on the surface of the water.

His friends desperately tried to save him, performing CPR as they rushed him by boat to Geordie Bay, where paramedics were waiting, but he died despite their efforts.

SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15844179/Man-critical-condition-shark-attack-Far-North-Queensland.html