Shark Swallows Then Rejects Diver

Posted on Jan 23, 2007

smh.com.au

A three-meter-long white pointer shark swallowed an Australian diver headfirst, up to his torso, only to discover that it couldn’t stand the taste. The dissatisfied shark then spat out Eric Nerhus, who experts believe was mistaken for a seal.

Sydney Morning Herald:

It seems Eric Nerhus, an abalone diver, did not impress the discerning palate of the three-metre white pointer shark that attacked him yesterday. The shark had Mr Nerhus’s head in its jaws, but marine experts say it chewed him then spat him out when it realised he was not a seal.

Mr Nerhus, 41, a black belt in karate who has been diving professionally for five years, was scouring reefs at Cape Howe, near Eden, with his son, Mark, 16, when the shark pounced about 9.30am.

In an instant the shark snapped its jaw around Mr Nerhus’s head with such force it crushed his face mask and broke his nose. He fought to break free but Mr Nerhus’s torso was then pulled into the shark’s mouth and it bit into the diver’s sides.

“He was actually bitten by the head down,” said a friend and fellow diver, Dennis Luobikis. “The shark swallowed his head.”

But the white pointer, probably weighing about 500 kilograms, would not have liked the taste, said an aquarist at Sydney Aquarium, Grant Willis.

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