Shark attack surge: 3 dead in Australia in under a month
Palm Beach closed as beaches in Sydney's north have been closed since Tuesday due to shark attacks and dangerous currents during summer in Sydney on January 22, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
A deadly shark attack off the Australian coast on Saturday was the third one within the past month, according to police.
What they're saying:
The local police department explained the victim was spearfishing with his family off Michaelmas Island, off the southwestern tip of Australia, shortly before noon when the approximately 15-foot-long shark attacked him.
The 35-year-old man was rushed to the nearby port city of Albany where paramedics attempted to revive him before he died.
Shark attack surge
So many deaths from shark attacks in such a short time frame is unusual for Australia, which has seen around three shark-related deaths per year over recent decades.
Timeline:
The first of the three attacks came on May 16, when another spearfisher, Steve Mattabonni, 38, was mauled by a 13-foot white shark near Rottnest Island, which is only about 250 miles from Michaelmas Island.
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Just over a week later, on May 24, Michael Jensz died after he suffered unsurvivable head injuries in a shark attack on the Great Barrier Reef. The type of shark was not indicated; however, bull sharks had been seen in the area.
Dig deeper:
In January, a 12-year-old boy died while in the hospital after being mauled by a bull shark in Sydney Harbor. His was the only other shark-related death of the year.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from the Associated Press and email correspondence. This story was reported from Orlando.