Latest news with #TathraBeach
News.com.au
21 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Screaming for help': Boy, 9, relives horror moment he was attacked by shark while surfing on NSW south coast
A nine-year-old boy has recalled the horror moment his board was smashed to pieces after he was attacked by a shark on the NSW south coast. Bowie Daly was surfing along Tathra Beach, a seaside area on the Sapphire Coast in southern NSW, on Thursday when he suddenly felt a 'tug' at the back of his surfboard. Speaking to the ABC, the nine-year-old said he 'suddenly started drowning' but got back up onto the board. 'When I came back up, I saw a giant back and I realised it was a shark and then I started screaming for help,' he said. While Bowie escaped virtually unscathed – suffering only a scratch and puncture to his wetsuit – the shark destroyed his beloved surfboard. His father Simon explained to the ABC his son could have 'lost his whole leg' if he was on the board properly. 'We got really lucky,' he said. Mr Daly said it was his 'worst nightmare' realising his son had been attacked, before paddling out with another group of surfers to help his son. 'Those seconds and that 20m of paddling was definitely the most intense of my life,' he said. A NSW Ambulance spokesman confirmed paramedics had been called over the incident but reported no injuries. According to the Australian Shark-Incident Database (ASID), there has been an average of 20 incidents in which people have been injured by sharks. On average, there were 2.8 fatalities each year and seven incidents in which the person was uninjured. Three fatal shark attacks have been recorded so far in 2025 – one each in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. In January, 28-year-old Lance Appleby disappeared while surfing off Granites Beach, south of Streaky Bay in SA, after being attacked by a shark. His body has not been recovered and subsequent searches by authorities have been called off. A month later, Charlize Zmuda, 17, died after being bitten by a shark while swimming at Bribie Island's Woorim Beach. In March, 37-year-old Steven Payne was surfing at Wharton Beach, about 780km southeast of Perth, when he was attacked by a shark. His body also could not be recovered. Rising ocean temperatures due to climate change, in addition to a greater number of people swimming in the ocean, have been attributed to the steadily-rising number of attacks over the last 10 years. Bond University Associate Professor and shark researcher Dr Daryl McPhee said rising water temperatures rise along the coast, specifically around the Greater Sydney region, meant bull sharks were expanding their search for food – moving further south of Sydney and down the coast. She said an increase in prey in the area – such as humpback whales – had driven the increase of shark sightings and attacks.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Shark attack at Tathra Beach leaves 9yo surfer's board in pieces
A nine-year-old surfer has survived a shark attack on a NSW far south coast beach. Bowie Daly was surfing at Tathra Beach at 4:30pm on Thursday when a shark grabbed his surfboard. "I was holding onto it [my board] and I felt a tug at the back of my board," Bowie told the ABC. "I suddenly started drowning but I got back up … it only happened for a second. The shark let go of the board and a group of nearby surfers, including Bowie's father, helped him get to shore safely. The young surfer managed to emerge largely unscathed from the attack. "I have a hole in my wetsuit … I have a scratch mark," he said. Bowie's surfboard was not as lucky. "It made a giant bite mark … it fully took out my fin," the nine-year-old said. "My board was fully into pieces … fully wrecked. "It was not good." According to the Australian Shark-Incident Database, on average 20 people are injured by sharks in Australia each year. The data also said there were 2.8 fatalities on average in Australia each year, and seven incidents in which a person was involved in a shark incident but was not injured. Tathra Surf Life Saving Club president Andrew Johnson was called to the beach just after the attack. He said shark sightings were not common in the Tathra Beach area and none had been reported before Thursday. "All surfers think that there's sharks out there and they just accept that." The last shark attack at Tathra was in 2014 when a woman was swimming off Tathra Wharf. Mr Johnson flew a drone over the water on Thursday and Friday, but the shark has not been seen since the attack. The incident did not stop Mr Johnson and many other locals from going out into the surf on Friday, but he said young Bowie was lucky to be okay. "He's probably really, really cheesed off that his board's broken." Asked when he would surf again, Bowie said it would be "two to four weeks till I get back in". Tathra-born former professional surfer Kai Otten has been in touch with Bowie's family and offered the grom a new surfboard. The news has fast-tracked Bowie's planned return to the surf. "I'm going to go sooner," he said.
