Matthew Lee poses with the shark he apparently wrestled to shore. Photo provided by Lee to the media
Shark-mania is in full swing in Australia, especially after a pair of shark encounters in the west forced the World Surf League to cancel the Margaret River Pro. Well, this whopper has really got people talking.
Matthew Lee was reportedly surfing the point at Lennox Head in New South Wales when what looks like a bull shark bumped him. In an apparent case of extreme self-preservation, Lee is said to have wrestled the shark onto the rocks. “Thinking about it now it seems the stupidest thing to grab it, but at the time I thought if I grab it, I know exactly where its mouth is,” he told local media.
How he got the fish to shore and avoided being mauled–even a smaller animal like this can do serious damage–wasn’t initially clear and attempts to reach Lee haven’t been fruitful. The shark, which looks to be in the four to six-foot range, lays on the rocks next to Lee in a photograph circling the internet. While surf media has posted on the incident there are several fishy facts regarding the encounter. The incident is being reported by papers that all have paywalls. Second, a man also named Matthew Lee was attacked at a spot known as East Ballina to the south of Lennox Point in 2015. He also survived.
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
