Australia's Great Barrier Reef may bring to mind colorful coral, world-famous dive sites, and abundant marine life, but the vast reef system is also home to large predators.
A fatal shark attack there on May 24 underscored the risks of entering those waters.
A 39-year-old spearfisher from Cairns was killed after a white shark attacked him at Kennedy Shoal, a shallow reef south of the city that is popular with recreational fishers, ABC News reported.
Police said he had been diving from a boat with three friends and was spearfishing when the 16-foot shark attacked.
The individual was taken back by boat around noon to Hull Heads, where paramedics were waiting. He did not survive his injuries.
Fishers had seen bull sharks in the area before the attack.
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The death was Australia's second fatal shark attack in a little over a week and its third shark-related death of 2026. On May 16, spearfisher Steve Mattabonni was killed near Rottnest Island in Western Australia. Earlier this year, 12-year-old Nico Antic died in a hospital days after an attack off a Sydney beach.
Australia has, in recent decades, averaged more than three fatal shark attacks a year.
Spearfishing can raise the risk because it often involves injured fish, vibrations, and blood in the water, all of which are conditions that may attract sharks already in the area. Shark attacks remain rare, but certain recreational activities can make people more noticeable to marine predators.
Places like the Great Barrier Reef draw tourists, fishers, and divers into shark habitat. When recreation sites also function as feeding grounds or travel corridors for species such as bull sharks, the chances of a serious encounter can rise.
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