Spearfishermen saved by flare in drowning and shark scare

31/03/2021

Two spearfishermen have been re-united with water police officers who saved them from a potential shark attack or drowning after a flare was fired.

Matty Smith and a friend were spearfishing near Broughton Island, Port Stephens, when they surfaced after two hours in the water. They found their beat, which had an engine problem, had drifted several kilometres away.

The skipper on board – a friend of the pair – let off a flare, says New South Wales Police Marine Area Command.

The men, aged 36 and 28, initially climbed onto a rock but when the tide rose to cover it, they started to swim to shore about 5 kilometres away and had been circled by a bull shark before being rescued.

Matty Smith says, “I looked up and saw the red and blue lights and the relief and gratitude I had then. I thought I need to get on that boat, especially after seeing the shark.

“Had the officers not arrived, the thoughts I was having were either: with it being dusk and the sun going down, potentially a shark attack or probably one of us potentially drowning.”

Senior constables Glen Young and Nick Leach from the Port Stephens Marine Area Command found the boat and picked up the skipper before searching for the stranded spearfishermen.

Senior Constable Leach says, “The wind had got up so there were whitecaps on the water, so finding a couple of divers in the water was pretty hard, like finding a needle in a haystack. They’re dressed in camouflage gear.”

Senior Constable Glen Young adds, “They were quite exhausted when they got on the boat. I think they only would have had another hour in the water before they maybe would have possibly drowned.”

The image is courtesy of NSW Police MAC.