63-year-old Greg O’Neill was killed by a great white shark outside Perth, Western Australia, last week. Authorities issued a rare catch-and-kill order. Now, a major update has emerged.
Greg O’Neill, 63, was swimming at Sorrento Beach outside Perth, Western Australia, on Friday when the horrifying attack occurred. In front of terrified beachgoers, O’Neill was attacked by a great white shark and killed.
O’Neill was swimming around 50 feet from shore when the shark struck. Per The Sun, witnesses at the beach compared it to “a scene from Jaws, where the body is flicked around like a ragdoll”
“I couldn’t believe there was that much blood (that had) come out of a human body,” Ryan Rowe, a resident who went to the beach soon after the attack, told The West Australian newspaper.
Witness Darrel Haythornthwaite told Nine Network television that O’Neill was swimming with a friend when a shark attacked him.
“I was just shocked. I mean, I feel for his mate,” Haythornthwaite said. “He’s apologized and said, ‘I didn’t save my mate.’ I said, ‘You couldn’t have done anything.'”
Greg O’Neill was described as a “devoted family man” in a statement his family gave ABC Australia.
63-year-old Greg O’Neill killed by shark
His body hasn’t been recovered, but police said they were confident the “swimmer died as a result of the attack.”
“Our family is deeply shocked and devastated by the terrible tragedy that took the life of father, grandfather-to-be, brother, uncle, husband and friend, Greg James O’Neill,” his family told ABC Australia in a statement.
“He was a generous, devoted family man that gave his children so much love, care and opportunity,” they added. “Greg loved the ocean and was known as a passionate swimmer, sports lover, dedicated worker and an all round generous, witty guy.”
Western Australia’s Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis didn’t wait long to act, and he did so in a shocking way. Jones took the “extraordinary step” of issuing a rare catch-and-kill order, allowing authorized officers to “destroy the shark” if they manage to capture it.
The decision follows a serious shark attack and has drawn attention in Australia. Not least because great white sharks are a protected species. Catch-and-kill orders are highly controversial, and this is believed to be the first such order issued in Western Australia in around a decade.
Issued “catch-and-kill” order
Jarvis said she approved the order because of the “exceptional circumstances” surrounding the attack and the “hazard posed by the shark.”
Catch-and-kill orders have long been a controversial issue in Western Australia.
In 2014, major protests broke out across the region after authorities ordered sharks to be killed following a sudden rise in attacks.
The capture equipment, a type of line normally used to tag sharks, was placed about 1.5 kilometers offshore from the beach where the attack happened.
Culum Brown from Macquarie University’s Ecology and Evolution of Fishes Laboratory questioned whether it could ever succeed, saying it’s like trying to find a “needle in a haystack.”
“So what are they going to do? Catch every white shark on the west coast until they find the one? I mean, it’s a bit ridiculous,” Brown told ABC.
Instead, he argued that authorities should put more money into shark-spotting drones. The expert described the drones as “a very highly effective technology,” stating they are “much cheaper than helicopters.”
Authorities call off operation to catch shark responsible for Greg O’Neill’s death
Brown believed the approach would be a “win-win” for both sharks and swimmers.
Now, the hunt for the shark has taken a swift turn. ABC Australia reported Sunday that officials have called off the operation. They stated there was a “significantly diminished chance” of capturing the shark believed to have killed Greg O’Neill.
The attack on O’Neill was the second shark attack in Western Australia this week. On Monday, a 56-year-old surfer had part of his leg ripped off in another attack.
It was also the third fatal shark attack in the state this year, according to the BBC. This year, five people have died in fatal shark attacks so far in Australia.
Our thoughts are with Greg O’Neill and his loved ones. Rest in peace.
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