Great white shark that mauled Brit to death ‘should not be killed’, expert says
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A shark expert – who says he is horrified by the “severity and ferocity” of the Sydney tragedy – says it would be pointless to kill the beast involved.
Marine biologist Larry Chlebeck said he was “shocked and saddened” to learn of the death of a British expat.
Simon Nellist, 35, was killed by a 13ft-long great white shark at Buchan Point, near Little Bay, on Wednesday, February 16.
The huge predator reportedly swallowed parts of the victim's body before the diving instructor’s remains were later found.
Now Larry Chlebeck – of the Humane Society International – believes the shark that killed Simon may have mistaken him for a seal.
And he said calls for the shark to be culled were ill-informed and would serve no purpose.
Explaining why, he said: “The shark involved is most likely a great white, a highly migratory species that will be hundreds of kilometres away by now. It will not be accustomed to the taste of humans, that is a myth.
“It was most likely disappointed that it hadn't struck a seal. Were it to be found and killed, there will be no benefit to anyone involved other than the psyche of the ignorant.”
Mr Chlebeck – who has a postgraduate degree working with sharks – also spoke about why the fatal attack, the first of its kind in Sydney in almost 60 years, was so unusual.
He said: “I am shocked and saddened and my heart goes out to the victim and their family.
“While tragic, these incidents are extremely rare. The vast majority of them are one and done bites and also not fatal.
“Even among shark bites, it was unusual in its ferocity and severity.
“Honestly, 99,999 times out of 100,000 a shark ignores or is deterred by the presence of a human. We are not normal prey items. Any bite at all is an extremely rare occurrence, this one even more so.”
Simon – who was killed less than 500ft from the main beach – recently made a chilling post on Facebook, seemingly predicting his fate.
On August 11, 2021, he wrote: “Shark nets and drum lines protect no one and kill all marine life every year."
According to reports, the swimmer had been training for a charity event this weekend, which has since been cancelled.
After the horrific attack, one fisherman can be heard saying in traumatic video footage: “Someone just got eaten by a shark. Oh man! Oh no! That's insane. That's a great white shark.
"I just saw a four to five metre great white explode on the surface right here on a swimmer and it was like a car landing in the water.
"F*** man, I heard a scream and the shark was just chomping on his body and the body was in half here just off the rocks.
"It came back and swallowed parts of his body and that was it."
Mr Chlebeck – who is based in Australia – concluded that the chances of encountering a shark in the UK were incredibly slim.
He said: “Sharks are unlikely enough to encounter here in Australia, so in the UK the odds would be astronomical.
“If someone gets bit in the UK, that individual should play the lottery.”
And referring to the importance of sharks, the marine biologist added: “We must recognise the way human behaviour affects shark behaviour.
“Fishing, cleaning fish and similar activities can attract large predators. And we need to make informed choices when entering the ocean and acknowledge the risk we take when doing so.
“Sharks have always been in the oceans and if we want to have healthy oceans providing us with food, jobs, recreation, climate stability and more, we need healthy shark populations.
“They’ve been here longer than trees, longer than the Himalayas, and the best thing we can do is to learn to coexist.”
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