Australian beaches closed after latest shark attack | Inquirer News

Australian beaches closed after latest shark attack

/ 02:40 PM August 23, 2015

SYDNEY — Several beaches on Australia’s east coast remained closed Sunday after a bodyboarder was seriously hurt in a shark attack, just weeks after two others were badly mauled at a nearby region.

A 38-year-old man was bodyboarding with a friend off Lighthouse Beach, about 400 kilometers (248 miles) north of Sydney, late Saturday afternoon when he was attacked and suffered “life-threatening injuries”, New South Wales state police said.

He was treated at Port Macquarie Hospital for stomach and back wounds and was in a stable condition on Sunday morning, a hospital spokeswoman told AFP.

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Beaches in the Port Macquarie and Hastings area remained closed on Sunday.

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The latest attack came less than a month after a 52-year-old surfer sustained serious arm and leg injuries after being bitten at Evans Head, about 350 kilometers north of Lighthouse Beach.

In the same area, a 32-year-old surfer’s legs were mauled by a shark in early July and in February, a 41-year-old Japanese surfer died after his legs were torn off in an attack.

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The spate of attacks prompted authorities to boost the monitoring and tagging of sharks off the coast, with world-renowned experts temporarily based in the region to lead the project ahead of the busy summer season.

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But the latest encounter was “quite unusual as there haven’t been reports of shark activity in that (Port Macquarie) region for ages”, a Surf Life Saving spokeswoman told AFP.

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The state government has ruled out culling sharks, but is also undertaking a review of new control technologies with a report to be completed by next month.

Experts say attacks by sharks are increasing as water sports become more popular.

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