A life-long surfer, the now 66-year-old Dave Pearson still remembers the day a bull shark almost killed him. That harrowing encounter took place 14 years ago at Crowdy Head, an hour south of Port Macquarie. At 48 years old, Pearson was attacked by the shark, having been knocked off his surfboard and dragged beneath the water by his arm. The attack left him with catastrophic injuries, including almost losing his arm to the killer. Since then, he’s entirely changed his outlook on surfing and shark awareness.
Similar to Pearson’s attack, just a few weeks before at Cabarita Beach, in which another surfer suffered a bull shark attack. This alarming link points to an immediate need for education and documentation of human-shark interactions on Australia’s coasts. Pearson believes it’s critical to document these experiences to encourage greater awareness and safety for those who love our oceans.
A Call for Reporting Shark Encounters
After all he went through, Pearson has made a courageous choice. He now passionately advocates for everyone to report shark encounters, even if they seem insignificant. He urges fellow surfers and ocean swimmers to share their experiences, stating, “They have happened in the ocean from divers poking or prodding something they shouldn’t have poked or prodded, and then getting nipped and being a bit embarrassed by it.”
Better reporting would result in a more accurate picture of what’s driving shark behavior along our coast. Pearson thinks that most surfers underestimate what they’ve gone through because they’re afraid to admit it and be seen as weak. He notes, “It’s a difficult thing to do because men don’t want to say they’re scared of something.”
He says that surfers have “dozens” of separate interactions with sharks every week along Australia’s east coast. The majority of these near misses or bumps aren’t even reported. “There are so many people who get bumped or have a shark come at them and turn away,” he explains.
Preparing for Encounters
In his mission to inspire safety for surfers, Pearson doesn’t hit the beach without a first aid kit—ever. He’s even been busy equipping fellow surfers with tourniquets at his home break. That way they’ll be ready for whatever emergency or disaster might happen next. His proactive measures come from an insight into the dangers of surfing in waters filled with sharks.
Dr. Daryl McPhee, a marine biologist and an expert witness in shark attack cases, agrees with Pearson’s call to report non-life-threatening encounters. And although he agrees it is difficult to measure the extent of the cases that go unreported, they are undeniably happening all the time. “You can never work out exactly how many, because by definition they are unreported, but it certainly does occur,” McPhee states.
To protect and enjoy ocean adventures, awareness of shark presence is key. Pearson insists, “But people need to be made aware of the amount of sharks out there so we can prepare for it.” And many passionate surfers within and beyond Oahu feel this way. They know it’s possible to have fun and keep alert while spending time in the water.
Understanding Shark Behavior
Shark encounters usually occur due to misinterpretation of behavior, not as an act of aggression. As McPhee explains, sharks often pursue people back to shore after an attack, acting on instinct and not on anger. He remarks, “There are many of us who have had sharks follow us back to the beach after the attack, waiting for us to die so they could have an easy feed.”
As more and more communities expand into or explore ocean spaces, knowing how to predict and respond to human-shark interactions is more vital than ever. Pearson’s experience serves as a poignant reminder that while shark attacks may be dramatic headlines, many other encounters occur weekly that go unnoticed and unreported.
