Spearfisher critical after bull shark hit - Queensland, Australia

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DandyDon

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Queensland shark attack victim identified as former US diver Rick Bettua
A 59-year-old man is in a critical condition after a shark attack in North Queensland on Sunday.

Rick Bettua was spearfishing with friends along the Great Barrier Reef when he was bitten on the leg by what’s believed to have been a bull shark.

The former United States Navy master diver was flown to Townsville University Hospital, where he has since undergone surgery.

The attack took place at Britomart Reef at Lucinda, 120km north of Townsville.

Critical care paramedic Ruiyi Yin told Sunrise that Bettua’s injuries were “quite severe.”

“He had sustained a significant bite to his upper left thigh and had also suffered significant blood loss,” she said on Monday.

She added that “quick thinking” by a friend “definitely saved his life”.

“He was able to apply a makeshift tourniquet prior to any medical crew arrival and no doubt that contributed significantly to saving his life.”
 
One story I read said Rick had previously saved a buddy suffering from a shark bite at this same reef last year.
This reef is a bit too close to the mainland for me to feel safe about spearfishing there.

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Has anyone ever tried those magnetic field generating bands I see for sale in dive shops? I wonder how effective they really are at repelling sharks?
 
Britomart Reef is about 50 km from the mainland and about 40 km from Hinchinbrook Island, so I would hardly call it close to land. The water out there is extremely clean.

I know a few friends who use the shark shields, none have been bitten! However, personally I have doubts about them.
 
Britomart Reef is about 50 km from the mainland and about 40 km from Hinchinbrook Island, so I would hardly call it close to land. The water out there is extremely clean.

I know a few friends who use the shark shields, none have been bitten! However, personally I have doubts about them.

As I said, it is too close to the mainland for me to feel comfortable about spearfishing. Extremely clean is not how I would describe the water in that area but that is a matter of experience. Once I dived in Hawaii clean water took on a new meaning.
If you are tough enough to spear there don't let me stop you, once I had kids my risk tolerance went low.

Most of my spearfishing on the GBR has been in the bunker group (Sykes reef) and even there I get the willy's from sharks. The recent attack at Northwest did SFA to alleviate those fears.
 
One story I read said Rick had previously saved a buddy suffering from a shark bite at this same reef last year.
This reef is a bit too close to the mainland for me to feel safe about spearfishing there.

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Why is the reef to close to be safe? Are there no bull sharks on reefs that are not that close?
 
Has anyone ever tried those magnetic field generating bands I see for sale in dive shops? I wonder how effective they really are at repelling sharks?

I would imagine only if the shark was oppositely magnetic.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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