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Paul Marshallsea Drags Bronze Whaler Shark Away from Noosa Beach
- Published_at:2013-01-21
- Category:News & Politics
- Channel:tvbodaga2
- tags:
- description: Moment British man drags shark away from swimming children. A BRITISH holidaymaker grabbed a six-foot shark by its tail and dragged it away from a group of toddlers as they played in shallow water off the coast of Queensland. Paul Marshallsea, 62, was praised by the lifeguards after he rushed from a beach-side barbecue to keep the children safe. The encounter was caught by a nearby Channel 9 television crew. The grandfather said: "Where this shark actually came ashore, it's shallow for about five or six yards, and a lot of babies and toddlers splash about there. It could have been very nasty. "My instincts took over and I just grabbed shark by the tail." Mr Marshallsea, from South Wales, said he was lucky to escape the encounter without injury. "He turned on me and just missed me with a bite," he said. "The shark nearly took my leg off in a split second, it was that quick." He said he acted to save not only the playing children, but also shark itself. "I know it was dangerous but it almost looked beautiful - you have got to have respect for a beautiful animal. People might say it was a stupid thing to do, but when you see a beautiful beast struggling to survive you somehow tend to respect it and want to help it. "I got hold of his tail and pulled with all my might to get shark back into deep enough water, so that the poor thing could survive. "Her two-feet-long babies were swimming through my legs. They must have got lost and marooned by the shallow sand-banks and got beached." The incident was filmed by a TV crew that happened to be filming at the popular tourist spot, Bulcock Beach near Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast. A lifeguard spokesman said: "We don't recommend manhandling sharks, but this gentleman did a great job" Helicopters and coastguards on jet skis were later able to lure the bronze whaler shark out to sea with the help of the tide. Local wildlife experts said it may have become disorientated due to illness, which resulted in it swimming so close to the shore. The species, which is common around the Australian coastline, is not the most ferocious - but bronze whalers have been known to occasionally attack humans, with one case proving fatal. The sharks can grow to up to 4.2m in length and weigh as much as 340kg, but typically avoid human contact, and stick to depths of 396m. The sharks, also known as dusty or black whalers, are highly prized by commercial fishermen as they are used to make shark fin soup. As many as 750,000 are caught and sold each year. Mr Marshallsea, from Merthyr Tydfil, who went to visit in Australia with his wife Wendy, 56, and daughter Rachel, 21, said: "We carried on with our barbecue and my Australian friends said I was crazy for grabbing shark." However, residents of his Welsh hometown were not surprised by his bravery. Mr Marshallsea is well known in the area for founding the Pant and Dowlais Boys and Girls Club, a local youth charity. A neighbour said: "His main thought would have been for the children. "We don't get a lot of sharks around here, so he did very well."
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