Coronial inquest finds shark shield would not have saved Steven Payne from shark attack off WA coast

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

A shark deterrent device is "very unlikely" to have prevented a fatal great white attack off WA's south coast, a coronial inquest has found.
Steven Jeffrey Payne, 37, owned a repellent device but was not wearing it when he was taken by a great white shark while surfing at Wharton Beach, around 80 kilometres east of Esperance, in March this year.
In her findings, Acting State Coroner Sarah Linton said the device Mr Payne owned, Shark Banz, was not subsided by the WA government.
"In the circumstances of this attack, where it appears the shark attacked at high speed from some distance (a natural predatory behaviour for great white sharks), I understand it is very unlikely any device would be effective to prevent the attack," she said.
Mr Payne and his partner Catherine, who were from Victoria, were one month into a six-month caravan trip when the attack occurred.
The couple had previously visited Granites Beach in South Australia where there was a fatal shark attack in January.
Catherine told police she and Mr Payne had made a joint decision not to surf at that location but thought WA waters would be safer.
'The risk of surfing at Esperance was the same as at Granites Beach,' Coroner Linton said.
'The sharks that are seen at Granites are likely to be the same sharks that are seen in the waters off Esperance, where there had been a number of recent shark attacks before Steve's death.'
Prior to Mr Payne's death, there had been three fatal shark attacks off Esperance since 2017.
"I understand that Steve was aware generally that there is always a low risk of shark attack when out surfing in the ocean off the Australian coastline," Coroner Linton said.
Mr Payne and two other surfers were sitting on their boards waiting for a wave, 60 metres from the shore, when the attack occurred around midday on March 10.
"The water was clear and smooth and everything seemed calm when, without warning, a large great white shark appeared in the water behind Steve and attacked him," Coroner Linton said.
Catherine, who was reading a book on the beach at the time, described trying to enter the water whilst yelling "shark" and warning people to move to the shore, without initially realising it was her partner who had been attacked.
The two other surfers said Mr Payne did not not make a sound and would have died in seconds.
Mr Payne's surfboard, which had visible shark bites, was recovered from the water, and after a two-day search, his surf hat, pieces of his wetsuit and a piece of his board were found on the shore.
His remains were never recovered.
Ms Linton said she hoped it was a "very small comfort to Catherine and Steve's family that he died almost instantaneously" as a result of his injuries.
According to the Australian Shark Incident Database (ASID) there have been 1285 shark incidents recorded since 1791.
ASID found just six of those attacked were wearing a shark deterrent device and in five out of the six incidences the shark was "provoked".
The state government introduced the $200 subsidy scheme in 2017, and offers the money on purchases of three different shark deterrent devices.
More than 9,400 have accessed the subsidy so far.