Australia: Father not taking "revenge" on Great White Shark after attack on son

A young marine biologist killed by a shark off Australia's southern coast loved the sea and would not want vengeance taken on the shark, his father said on Thursday.

David Stehbens said his son Jarrod, 23, had died doing what he loved.

"Jarrod was doing exactly what he wanted to do when it happened, he loved the sea," Stehbens told the national AAP news agency.

Stehbens was taken by a large shark, which experts say was probably a Great White, while diving in a research project for cuttlefish eggs off Glenelg Beach in Adelaide on Wednesday.

He and another diver were in the water when two colleagues from the University of Adelaide aboard their boat saw the shark approach.

They managed to haul one of the divers aboard but the shark used its snout to push Stehbens back into the water before his friends could grab him, reports said. His body has not been found.

Divers
"Our understanding is that the divers did actually see a shark take their colleague," said South Australian police spokesperson Jim Jeffrey.

"Obviously they're very traumatised and horrified by what they did see and they're seeking some counselling and support."

Stehbens was an honours graduate in marine biology at the university and had planned to leave for Germany in two weeks to complete a PhD.

"He was a marine biologist, he wouldn't want anything killed - as much as it is a bad thing that happened, I don't think Jarrod would like that," his father said, referring to suggestions that the shark should be hunted and killed.

The family, including brother Trent, 21, and daughter Jasmin, 15, were still struggling to comprehend the tragedy, he said.

The attack happened about 3km from the spot where a shark took an 18-year-old surfer eight months ago.

Surprised
Fishermen who were in the area at the time of Wednesday's attack said they were not surprised that a diver had been taken as there were always a lot of sharks in the area.

"It is crazy, they are shark bait," fisherman Keith Klemasz said, pointing out that several fishing boats were out that day and had been spreading ground bait in the water to attract fish.

"It's very unfortunate ... but I don't think it's a good idea to dive when you have got a lot of boats out.

"It's a feeding pattern, if we are all putting berley (ground bait) in the water, that will attract them".

Species
Shark expert Andrew Fox said it was likely the shark was a Great White - the species blamed for the fatal attack on the surfer - but he doubted it was the same shark.

"There's always speculation after any shark attack around the world of a rogue shark, or a shark gone bad, a shark that likes the taste of humans," he said.

"But there's actually, in the international shark record, there's never been any evidence that this has ever occurred."

Source: www.news24.com