Thursday 25th August 2005

A South Australian man taken by a shark yesterday was due to leave for Germany in two weeks to complete his PhD

Jarrod Stehbens

Jarrod Stehbens, 23, was helping Adelaide University marine biology students to collect cuttlefish eggs for marine research off Glenelg when the attack occurred
He is believed to have died of massive injuries during the attack, which occurred as he was resurfacing
Two of his colleagues tried to fend off the shark while rescuing another diver from the water

Mr Stehbens was an honours graduate in marine biology at the university and had planned to complete a PhD in Germany, his parents said today

Jarrod Stehbens's parents, David and Lisa Stehbens with son Trent at a press conference

"Jarrod was doing exactly what he wanted to be doing when it happened," his father David Stehbens said
"He loved the sea
He's a very experienced diver, he's done probably over 190 dives, he knew what it was about"
He said his son "loved the outdoors and the sea" but didn't have much time for the city
"He was a good bloke, that was his character"

Mr Stehbens said Jarrod would not have wanted the shark involved in the attack to be killed

He said he and his wife, their son Trent, 21, and daughter Jasmin, 15, were still struggling to comprehend yesterday's tragedy

The university is expected to make a statement this afternoon
The head of the earth and environmental science school, Bob Hill, said the university would investigate before taking a decision to suspend its diving program

Police are continuing to search for Mr Stehbens and the shark along Adelaide's metropolitan coastline today
Late yesterday, they recovered his air tank and buoyancy vest near the scene

Great white the suspect

While authorities remain uncertain what type of shark took Mr Stehbens, shark expert Andrew Fox says it's likely to have been a great white, also known as a white pointer
"The great white shark is really the only large predatory shark that's capable of actually taking a diver," Mr Fox said

The great white is found all around Australia's southern coast but favours the waters of South Australia as a prime hunting ground

Great whites are a protected species in Australia and are regarded as endangered around the world
But they have attained a terrifying status in Australia following a number of fatal attacks in recent years

Before yesterday, the most recent in South Australia was in December last year when 18-year-old Nick Peterson was attacked while being towed on a surfboard behind a boat off Adelaide's West Beach - just one kilometre from the site of yesterday's attack at Glenelg

In 1985, a great white killed Shirley Anne Durdin, 33, who was bitten in half while snorkelling at Peake Bay on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula

The same species was blamed for the death of Adelaide University student Jonathan Lee, 19, who was killed while diving off Aldinga Beach, south of Adelaide, in 1991

In 1999, TV sound recordist Tony Donoghue went missing while windsurfing in Hardwicke Bay on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula - apparently killed by a white pointer

In 2000, great whites were believed responsible for killing two men in two days off the South Australian coast
New Zealander Cameron Bayes was dragged off his surfboard by a great white at Cactus Beach, south of Penong on South Australia's west coast
The next day, about 250 kilometres away, 17-year-old Jevan Wright was grabbed by a shark at Black Point near Elliston

Also in 2000, a great white up to four metres long fatally mauled father-of-three Ken Crew, 49, as he swam at Perth's popular Cottesloe Beach

Two years later, on South Australia's west coast, a six-metre great white grabbed professional diver Paul Buckland as he dived for scallops off Smoky Bay in the Great Australian Bight

In July last year, a great white and a large bronze whaler were believed responsible for killing surfer Brad Smith near Gracetown in south-west Western Australia

A great white was also suspected of killing boat skipper Geoffrey Brazier, 26, taken as he snorkelled in West Australia's Abrolhos Islands in March last year

Shark expert Rodney Fox, who is Andrew Fox's father, said that South Australia's Spencer Gulf is probably the best feeding ground in the southern ocean for white pointers
Mr Fox, who survived a savage attack by a great white and has spent much of his life studying sharks, says he has seen more great whites in that area than anywhere else in southern Australia
"It's probably the best restaurant in the whole southern ocean," he once said

Great whites grow to up to seven metres, have huge and powerful jaws and are also capable of reaching speeds of up to 16kmh - more than 10kmh faster than the average swimmer, experts say

Great whites are now a protected species in Australia and laws prohibit its hunting
Last year, Australia announced it would push for a global ban on trade in great white shark products
Australia said it would nominate the shark for listing under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

Thursday 25th August 2005

A cuttlefish researcher is presumed dead after a shark took him during a diving trip off Adelaide, despite frantic efforts by his colleagues to save him

The man and another diver were in the water off Glenelg Beach yesterday when two colleagues aboard a boat saw the shark approach
They hauled one of the men out of the sea, but the shark used its snout to push the second diver back into the water before his friends could grab him, according to a colleague who asked not to be named

An oxygen tank and a buoyancy vest were later recovered

Police, who hold slim hopes of finding the man alive, will resume a search for the diver and the shark at first light today after calling off yesterday's search at nightfall

A 23-year-old marine biologist, identified by media as Jarrod Stehbens, was taken by a shark and thought killed when he was attacked while diving at the reef
Mr Stehbens was with three University of Adelaide colleagues seeking cuttlefish eggs in the area
Two of his colleagues tried to fend off the shark while rescuing another diver from the water

A file photo of Jarrod Stehbens during a previous diving expedition

The University of Adelaide's head of earth and environmental sciences, Professor Bob Hill, said he knew the four people involved and all were experienced and accredited divers
"I'm actually quite proud of the three of them from what I have heard - they made every attempt they could to do the right thing," he said of the survivors

Police, who said the type of shark involved in the attack was unknown, recovered the missing diver's air tank and buoyancy vest near the scene of the attack late yesterday

The attack happened within one kilometre of where 18-year-old surfer Nick Peterson was taken and killed by a great white shark last December at West Beach

A shark expert, Andrew Fox, said a great white was probably responsible for yesterday's attack