Luke Kuhn found a lot more than just lobster on his latest dive. Photo: Luke Kuhn
Exploring the ocean’s depths always comes with risk. Of course, most of the time there’s nothing to be afraid of, but you never know what could emerge from the depths. One Australian amateur lobster fisherman experienced this first-hand, when a shark grabbed on to his fin and dragged him along the ocean floor.
The incident occurred on the Limestone Coast in South Australia, where Luke Kuhn, 69, and a friend were diving for lobster. Everything was going fine at first. Though they noticed a seal hanging around their boat – behavior which can sometimes be a sign of a predator nearby. They thought nothing of it.
Kuhn dove down to to catch his quarry. It was at about 40 feet, where visibility was poor, that things went awry.
“I was reaching under a shelf for a cray, then all of a sudden I’m getting dragged backwards along the ocean floor by something powerful, very powerful,” he told ABC News.
A great white shark had latched on to his fin and was pulling him. In the ensuing chaos, Kuhn managed to free his foot from the fin and swim back to his original location. The shark did not seem to be through, though, as it went to the surface, barrel rolled, and headed back towards him.
Before it could bite again, Kuhn resurfaced and called to his dive partner for help.
“I was in a bit of shock trying to work out what happened, but made my way to the top and just yelled to my mate to come get me,” he said. “He was at my side within seconds, and said my face was pure white.”
Once onboard, they reported the incident to Shark Watch SA. Kuhn says that it will be a few weeks before he gets back in the water – and when he does, it will be with a shark resistant wetsuit.
