Fatal Shark Attack in Gracetown, WA

At 9am Saturday morning, West Australian local time, Chris Boyd was surfing at Umbies, in Gracetown, when a shark entered the lineup. Believed to be a Great White, the shark bounced off the board of another surfer before mauling Boyd. “The shark bit him and held him for about a minute,” says surfer Ryan Scanlon, who was about the paddle out when the attack happened. “He was dead before the shark let go. He was missing his left arm and flesh off the right leg. There was a guy with me. He’s an anaesthetist and he pronounced the guy dead at 9.05am. I ran up the beach and called police.”

Boyd’s body was removed by chopper because of the difficult terrain surrounding the area. His girlfriend, Krystle Westwood, arrived at the carpark at midday, where police informed her of what had happened. His parents and brother flew to Perth on Sunday. Boyd also leaves behind two children.

The Shire of Augusta-Margaret River and Department of Fisheries closed local beaches from Umbies to South Point and Huzzas, as well as North Point and Gracetown main beach. The initial closures will be in place for 24 hours, while authorities search for the shark responsible for the attack. The Department of Fisheries has ordered an “imminent threat order” for the shark – meaning, find and kill. Tony Cappelluti, of The Department of Fisheries, said: “We are using all the available resources. I mean, we don’t take this lightly. We sent a patrol vessel from Perth and that’s a fairly expensive operation, but we are committed to doing the job properly down there.”

Boyd was 35 years old, a plumber who’d moved to WA from Coolum on the Sunshine Coast a year ago for work. The loss has taken particular impact on the Coolum Boardriders Club. “It’s one of those surreal sort of moments,” says Club President Daryl Maudsley. “You never think it will happen to someone you know. And Chris, being such a gregarious and popular person, his loss is being felt probably more than some people’s would.”

Gracetown sits 270km south of Perth, and Boyd’s death marks the third fatal attack in the area in the last decade. This is the first fatal attack in West Oz this year, but comes just weeks after abalone diver Greg Pickering had his face and body bitten by a five-metre great white while diving off Esperance.

WA Premier Colin Barnett says that while “protection of human life comes first,” he doesn’t want to kill sharks. “The great white is a protected species, but perhaps we do need to look at taking a stricter, stronger stance when it is an imminent threat. That is a large shark patrolling where people are located. Obviously this time of the year seems to be one of the dangerous periods. I’m very conscience leavers week is on and there is a large amount of young people in the south west of Western Australia. The protection and safety for humans and human life is the number-one priority. We do need to be prepared to catch and, if necessary, destroy sharks that have attacked or are a direct danger to anyone who is using our coastline. We are doing research, we are doing surveillance, we are providing more resources to surf lifesaving clubs. If they’re surfing or diving on reefs, it is impossible to provide full protection for those people. It’s just a reality of life.”