A 35-year-old spearfisherman has become Australia’s third shark victim in just four weeks.
The incident occurred on Saturday, June 6, after the man was mauled off Michaelmas Island, near the port city of Albany, in the state of Western Australia.
It was while he was spearfishing with family members that the incident took place around noon, according to police reports. His body was then taken to Albany on a ship, where doctors were unable to revive him upon arrival.
This latest wave of deaths stands out even in a country where an average of three people die annually from shark bites.
Previously, on May 24, 2026, a 39-year-old man was murdered. The victim, identified as Michael Jensz, suffered head injuries that did not allow him to survive in an attack on the Great Barrier Reef. A week earlier, on May 16, a white shark measuring 13 feet long had killed spearfisherman Steve Mattabonni, 38, in waters around Rottnest Island, northwest of Albany.
The second and final fatal shark attack in Australia this year took place in January, in which a 12-year-old boy died from a bull shark attack in Sydney Harbour.
Scientists believe the increasing shark attacks are due to changes in migratory patterns due to rising ocean temperatures and increasingly populated patterns. According to the International Shark Attack File, more than 1,280 shark attacks have been recorded since 1791.
