The shark-infested waters where two British backpackers were brutally mauled is fast becoming Australia’s most dangerous tourist spot, according to locals, who fear the opportunistic predators have become more aggressive than ever.
A commercial trout fisherman on the Great Barrier Reef, who says he is regularly besieged by the fierce animals, shared chilling video to highlight those fears.
In the incredible footage, a frenzy of enormous bull sharks – known for their aggressive nature – twist and turn as they stalk his boat, preparing to go in for the kill.
The fisherman shared the clip with Daily Mail Australia after two British tourists were almost killed by a shark while snorkelling in the Whitsundays – and said more attacks were inevitable.
Alistair Raddon, 28, had his right foot bitten off and Danny Maggs, 22, was mauled on the leg on Tuesday morning.
Danny Maggs, 22, was mauled on the leg on Tuesday morning while snorkelling in Whitsundays
Eerily circling a fisherman’s boat, a frenzy of enormous bull sharks prepares to go in for kill
They were rushed to Mackay Base Hospital where they are in stable condition but said they were not well enough to speak to media.
Sources told Daily Mail Australia that they had been moved into the same room together and had been chatting to one another about the ordeal.
The trout fisherman, who asked not to be named, told Daily Mail Australia the sharks in North Queensland were ‘out of control’.
‘Whenever I go out I see dozens of bull sharks in a way that I never used to,’ he said.
‘The numbers are out of control so unfortunately attacks won’t stop.’
At one point in the video, the fisherman dangles a dead fish into the sea and almost immediately a bull shark comes from the deep and snaps at it.
Danny Maggs, 22, from Plymouth, has been pictured smiling and giving a ‘hang loose’ hand gesture to the camera as he was loaded into a helicopter after being bitten by a shark
Alistair Raddon uploaded this photo of himself swimming on the Great Barrier Reef four days before he was attacked by the shark
The trout fisherman, who asked not to be named, told Daily Mail Australia the sharks in North Queensland were ‘out of control’
‘The bull sharks are very aggressive,’ the fisherman said. ‘There are so many and they sometimes nudge the boat.
Several other fishermen said more attacks on tourists are expected over the coming summer months as thousands of backpackers flock to the Great Barrier Reef from Europe and America.
Grunter McCormack, 45, the skipper of a boat that fishes for coral trout, said he was not surprised by the recent attacks.
He told Daily Mail Australia: ‘I see them all the time, especially bull sharks. They come for the bait and then they get caught and we have to deal with them. They are everywhere up here.
‘My brother got bitten on the arm by a bull shark out to sea. He just taped it up and he was fine but he had a nasty scar.’
Fisherman Chris Woodward said he has also seen plenty of sharks in the area recently.
‘There are a lot of them and they can be very aggressive’, he said.
‘The bull sharks are very aggressive,’ the fisherman said. ‘There are so many and they sometimes nudge the boat
Grunter McCormack (pictured), 45, the skipper of a boat that fishes for coral trout, said he was not surprised by the recent attacks
Last month, more than 150 drum lines – baited hooks that stop sharks attacking tourists – were hauled out of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park after the federal court ruled killing the beasts was inhumane.
They were removed after conservation group Humane Society successfully challenged the shark control program in the federally-controlled area.
But the latest attack has revived debate about how to protect people from sharks in their habitat.
Fisherman say they need to be considered in the Whitsundays to save tourists from any more savage maulings.
Commercial trout fisherman Kyle Black, 16, said drum lines should be put in as soon as possible.
‘That’s why it’s happening, they need to put drum lines in. I see sharks all the time,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘There will be more attacks this year if something isn’t done.’
Fisherman Chris Woodward said he has also seen lots of sharks in the area recently. ‘There are a lot of them and they can be very aggressive’, he said.
Commercial trout fisherman Kyle Black (pictured), 16, said drum lines should be put in as soon as possible
Another fisherman, Travis Collins, also said he was not surprised by the attacks.
‘I’ve seen so many sharks, I saw a couple of hammerheads not far from the beach the other day,’ he said.
And it’s not just commercial fisherman who are wary of the danger that sharks pose.
Former gas fitter Greg Phillips, 58, has been fishing for fun in the area all of his life.
He told Daily Mail Australia that drum lines should be installed to protect tourists from attacks.
‘They’ve got to install drum lines to take out the rogue sharks and stop the attacks,’ he said.
‘The drum lines would target the aggressive sharks that come close to shore. You wouldn’t have to kill many of them to stop the attacks.
‘If they don’t take action I would say we’re going to see a lot more attacks happening this year.
‘I do believe in conservation – and they should only target a certain number of sharks – but protecting humans is also important.’
Former gas fitter Greg Phillips (pictured), 58, has been fishing for fun in the area all of his life
Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan believes governments at all levels are failing to protect locals and tourists.
‘We are going to have more and more of this happening until governments put public safety as their number one priority,’ he said.
On Tuesday Queensland Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said it was ‘near impossible’ to control sharks in the Whitsundays.
He said that the area where tourists swim and snorkel is too big to police effectively.
But Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander slammed the government for pulling up the drum lines.
‘The Palaszczuk Labor government has taken drum lines out of north Queensland with no plan B, leaving swimmers unprotected,’ he said.
Mr Maggs suffered severe lacerations to his right calf during the attack, which happened while he was playing and ‘thrashing’ in the ocean with friend Alistair Raddon
On Wednesday afternoon Mr Maggs, from Plymouth, and his friend Mr Raddon, from Southampton, were recovering well in Mackay Base Hospital.
Keith Maggs, Danny’s father, said his son spent four hours on the operating table to make initial repairs, before going back under the knife a second time.
Mr Maggs said his son, a plumber, called him between the operations and described his ordeal as ‘terrifying’ and said he was glad his injuries were not worse.
Danny’s grandfather, Terry, said: ‘He could have been killed. We’re all feeling relieved that it wasn’t any worse.
‘Danny qualified as a plumber in Plymouth and then he went travelling. He has been away from home for more than a year now and working along the way.’
The attack happened at 10.17am while the pair were swimming in the ocean off Hook Island, part of Queensland’s Whitsunday Islands, which is a popular spot for tourists.
Both men were taking part in a snorkelling boat tour, with medics saying they were playing and thrashing in the water at the time.
Grant Bollington, who was part of the helicopter crew which flew the pair to hospital, told the Queensland Times: ‘[Alistair] said they were wrestling in the water.
‘He thought his mate grabbed him really hard by the leg and turned around and saw blood in the water.’
Mr Raddon (pictured) had his right foot bitten off during the attack, which happened when he was play-fighting in the water with Mr Maggs
Mr Raddon had his right foot ‘amputated’ when he was attacked by a shark while snorkelling near the Great Barrier Reef in eastern Australia
Sanjeev Grewall, who was also part of the helicopter team, told how the men made it back to their tour boat where their lives were likely saved by quick-thinking tourists who also happened to be a medics.
He said the men – believed to be either German or Belgian nationals – applied tourniquets to both victims which stopped the bleeding.
The pair were then rushed back to Abel Point Marina at Airlie Beach, where their tour had departed from, where they were met by ambulance crews.
From there, they were driven to the town of Proserpine, around 10 miles away, where they were met by a medical helicopter and airlifted to Mackay Base Hospital.
The Whitsundays region has been the site of five other shark attacks since last September.
Victorian Daniel Christidis, 33, was fatally attacked last November at Cid Harbour during a trip with friends and colleagues.
That incident followed separate attacks within 24 hours in September at Cid Harbour on Tasmanian Justine Barwick and 12-year-old Victorian Hannah Papps.
In October 2018, a fisherman was bitten on his shoulder as he hauled a reef shark into his boat.
Earlier this year a man was bitten on the thigh at Hardy Reef, about 50km northeast of Hamilton Island.
Recent shark attacks in the Whitsundays
September 19, 2018: Justine Barwick, 46, miraculously survived a horrific shark bite while swimming off a charter yacht in Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays.
A passing yacht found the Tasmanian woman with life-threatening bites to her right thigh, and helped her out of the water.
Justine Barwick, 46, survived a horrific shark bite while swimming off a charter yacht in Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays in September last year
September 20, 2018: Hannah Papps, 12, from Melbourne, lost her leg after being bitten by a shark near at Cid Harbour on the Whitsundays.
The young girl’s upper thigh had a large piece of flesh torn off by the shark at popular tourist spot Cid Harbour.
Hannah was airlifted to the Mackay Base Hospital from the beach by CQ CareFlight paramedics.
Hannah Papps, 12, lost her leg after being bitten by shark near at Cid Harbour on the Whitsundays just one day after Ms Barwick in the same area (pictured with Paralympic swimmer Ellie Cole)
November 7, 2018: Daniel Christidis, 33, was mauled to death by a shark at Cid Harbour at Whitsunday Island.
The up and coming doctor was taking part in a five-day sailing holiday around the Whitsunday islands when he was attacked about 5.30pm.
During the attack, the 33-year-old was bitten in the left thigh, right calf and left wrist, the latter of which was reportedly injured while fending off the predator.
There were more than a dozen yachts in the harbour at the time and some tourists managed to rescue Mr Christidis with their dinghy.
They brought him back to his own yacht, where most of the group had medical backgrounds, including two doctors, but they were unable to help him.
Daniel Christidis, 33, was mauled to death by a shark at Cid Harbour at Whitsunday Island