A 38-year-old man who went spearfishing near Western Australia’s Horseshoe reef died on Saturday following a fatal shark attack, according to WA Police.
The man was bitten by a 4m (13ft) long white shark at about 9.54am local time on Saturday at the reef, north of Marjorie Bay on the western end of a popular holiday island.
He was on the water surface about 80m from the shore and 20m from his boat when he was bitten on his legs, Police sergeant Michael Wear told ABC News.
The man visited Rottnest with three of his friends from Perth's northern suburbs to go spearfishing, according to local news reports.
Paramedics and police performed CPR on the man after he was brought ashore.
“Sadly, the man was unable to be revived,” police said in a statement, urging the public to take “additional caution” in waters around the area.
This is Australia's second fatal shark attack this year after a boy was killed in Sydney Harbour in January.
The incident also marks the first fatal shark attack in Western Australia since March 2025, when a surfer was mauled to death.
On average, about 20 shark attacks are reported in Australia annually, of which less than three are fatal, according to previous research by conservationists.
So far, 1,300 shark incidents have been recorded in Australia since 1791, of which more than 350 were fatal, and 24 have occurred since 2020, according to the Toronga Conservation Society.
WA premier Roger Cook expressed his condolences to the deceased and his family.
“It is deeply distressing to hear news of a fatal shark attack off Rottnest today,” Mr Cook posted on Facebook.
“It is a devastating time for all involved...I would encourage anyone impacted by this tragedy to reach out for support,” the premier said.
“Take additional caution in the Horse Shoe Reefs and Marjorie Bay areas,” Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) said in a statement, adding that one of its patrol vessels would be out on the water, monitoring the area.
Scientists suspect rising ocean temperatures and increasingly crowded waters around Australia are altering shark migratory patterns and bringing them much closer to human presence than before.
Serious and fatal shark bites have been attributed to the white shark more than any other species.
They are responsible for approximately 40 per cent of WA shark bites and all of the fatal shark bites since 1980.
White sharks commonly occur off the South and South West Coasts in coastal waters and in the open ocean from the surface to deeper than 1000 m, the Western Australian government says.
Man killed in shark attack off Western Australia coast
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