A fisherman named only Matthew told the local Northern Star newspaper that he caught the shark “a while ago” and kept the teeth as souvenirs. “I was fighting the hammerhead shark, and he [the tiger shark] came up and swallowed it. …”
Advertisement
The photo was initially posted by a Facebook user, Geoff Jones, who said he did not know its origins.
In an online article by the Northern Star, the shark was described as being approximately 14 to 15 feet long and was said to have been caught by a commercial fisherman.
He said the fisherman handed its body to the CSIRO but a CSIRO spokesman said it had not been contacted about the shark.
He said that the pictures that have appeared on social media were used to identify the monster shark as he had no idea of its exact species when it was caught.
Some suggested that the beast may have been a great white shark, but an expert later confirmed the creature was indeed a tiger shark.
Cr Wright says the helicopter has spotted sharks circling within 20 metres of surfers at Bolders Beach on five occasions in the last fortnight.
“We’ve seen the photos but we haven’t got any information that it has been handed in or where it was caught”, he says.
The climate of fear has risen after one surfer was fatally mauled near Ballina in February, while 11 other board riders have been attacked recently.
About 200 surfers from beaches around Byron Bay, a popular tourist hotspot, held a meeting on Monday night to discuss the sharks and about 95 per cent supported a limited cull.
He said there was a real concern that local groups could “take matters into their own hands” to reduce shark numbers. Earlier this year, another white shark closed beaches in the region, and lifeguards asserted that it was “of a size not before seen” off their coastline.
“I’ve dived with sharks bigger than that, it’s only a little one”.
Advertisement
Sequel to great white shark photo bombing video, this time missile launching into the air.
