Jurien Bay shark attack: Tour operator claims a shark spotted earlier the same day a tourist was bitten

A shark was spotted by the crew of a Jurien Bay sea lion tour business earlier the same day one of its passengers — a 46-year-old Japanese woman — was attacked. The tourist was bitten on the leg about 11.30am on Monday while on a swimming with sea lions expedition operated by Turquoise Safaris, one of three local businesses granted a licence by the State Government last year under a trial. “We’d seen one that morning, but we see them all the time,” Kane Krollig, owner and operator of Turquoise Safaris, told the Geraldton Guardian. Mr Krollig has been operating the tour business for 10 years, knowing the area better than anyone. The morning of the attack at about 7am, he and his deck crew sighted a shark in the area where customers go to snorkel with sea lions. Four-and-a-half hours later, a group of international tourists boarded Mr Krollig’s boat. “They were experienced. They had all their own gear and everything,” Mr Krollig, who skippers the boat, said. “They got on and we told them we’d seen a shark, and they actually all cheered.” Mr Krollig assures that customers know they have the option to not swim if they are not comfortable, and crew take additional precautionary measures to ensure a safe trip. “I had a decky who would usually swim with them or stay up on the boat with me as an extra spotter,” Mr Krollig said. Among the rules for operators running sea lion tours is mooring at designated spots. “I actually went against that, and took us to the north of the island so we’d have a sandy patch with clear water — just so we could see everything,” Mr Krollig said. The patch Mr Krollig chose cut the group’s swimming area by 60 per cent. “Apart from that we were following everything by the book, I told them about the (shark) horn, and how we needed to be extra vigilant today,” he said. Mr Krollig maintains the attack itself happened faster than anyone could have believed, with no time to look at what breed the shark was — DNA testing is currently being done on the woman’s wetsuit to determine this, but it is believed to have been a 2m tiger shark. The woman’s screams and a pool of blood was what quickly spurred Mr Krollig and his crew into action. The tour operator said his crew’s performance after the incident had been executed to perfection. “If I didn’t have the same decky in the water with her, if it wasn’t for the actions of the whole group, she would’ve died,” he said. Mr Krollig said the crew responded to directions perfectly. “I looked, I saw blood and gave the signal for the crew to round everyone up,” he said. Crew members helped the injured woman back onto the vessel, assisting in putting a tourniquet on her leg, before Mr Krollig drove the boat back to the harbour. “It would have been 15 mins max,” he said. Mr Krollig said the woman appeared to be in shock, simultaneously laughing and crying while the crew tended to her injury. Paramedics were waiting when the boat arrived back at the harbour and the woman was taken to the local hospital before being flown by the RAC Rescue chopper to Royal Perth Hospital. She remains in a stable condition after undergoing multiple emergency surgeries, but it’s understood she could still lose her leg. “Surgeons have worked hard to save her leg, and she has a long recovery ahead of her,” a RPH spokesperson said. The morning after the attack a shark was sighted along the Jurien Bay shoreline but Mr Krollig said “that one was way bigger than the one we were dealing with”. Mr Krollig said it is a monthly occurrence to see sharks at tour spots, as well as schools of fish frequenting the area. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development shark response unit manager, Michael Burke said: “Advice from DPIRD fisheries officers based in Jurien is that there are schools of mullet in the area, which usually occur at this time of year.” Mullet are known to be a natural food source for sharks, as well as a common bait used in shark fishing. DPIRD has also confirmed they have not located or identified the shark involved in the incident. The Cook Government has requested a review of the incident. Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti said she and Environment Minister Reece Whitby would meet with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’ tourism subcommittee to ensure safety information was being shared with the public and adequate procedures were in place. “DBCA is undertaking a review of what happened and I will work, as the minister for tourism, with DBCA to understand exactly what led to that event,” Ms Saffioti said. The department is tasked with issuing licences for nature-based tours. A DBCA spokesperson said the risks of shark attacks had been taken into account when issuing the licence. “DBCA is reviewing (Monday’s) incident in close consultation with the licensed operator. In-water tour operations around Sandland Island have been temporarily suspended,” they said. Operations around Sandland Island were reopened on Thursday morning, according to Mr Krollig, who is back conducting tours at a different location. “We’ve gone in the complete opposite direction, and everything is going well,” he said. When asked about the possibility of the sea lion tour licence being cancelled by the State Government, Mr Krollig said his business would “be done” if that were to happen. Despite the frightening shark encounter, Mr Krollig said people have been keeping their bookings. “We’ve had a few people call up with concerns, which is fair,” Mr Krollig said. “We’ve given refunds to one or two people who don’t want to come.” Though tours have restarted, Mr Krollig said “it’s pretty hard to go back to business as usual after seeing something like that.”