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CANBERRA - Queensland officials have issued outraged warnings after a man swam in the midst of a feeding frenzy as sharks attacked the carcass of a dead whale off the Gold Coast.
The incident - similar to another six years ago near Adelaide when sightseers clambered on to
a dead whale - took place despite earlier alerts of hundreds of sharks massing for an annual frenzy at the start of the bait fish season.
Species common on the Queensland coast include some of the world's deadliest, such as tiger and bull sharks.
"I find it unbelievable that people would put their lives at risk by getting into the water in the vicinity of this shark feeding frenzy," State Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin said.
"It not only puts the person undertaking the act at risk but also the lives of those who would feel compelled to assist should anything go wrong ... "This sort of behaviour is so dangerous it is incomprehensible."
Mulherin's warning came after reports of a man entering the water close to a pack of sharks feeding on a dead whale.
It echoed another by Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries manager of shark control Baden Lane, who urged swimmers and surfers to beware of sharks massing for the annual swarms of mullet close to the breakers.
"Along with the mullet, of course, come the associated numbers of sharks looking for an easy feed," he said.
"So what we're asking people to do, is when they see the schools of mullet, please don't go swim in them.
"And if you see commercial fishing on the beach, keep right away from it."
Large stretches of beaches at the Gold, Sunshine and Capricorn coasts, Bundaberg, Cairns, Mackay, Gladstone and Townsville are protected by nets designed to catch large sharks of 2m or more, or drumlines baited to snare actively feeding sharks.
But neither prevents sharks entering any of the beaches.
Queensland is second only to New South Wales in the number of recorded shark attacks.
Since records began there have been 98 attacks, 38 of them fatal.
The most recent occurred in January last year, when three bull sharks killed 21-year-old Brisbane woman Sarah Whiley who was swimming off North Stradbroke Island.
But Australians continue to ignore warnings of the danger. In 2001 the South Australian bomb squad blew up the carcase of a southern right whale after boatloads of people watched sharks feed on the carcass.
Some clambered on to the body - one man with a child in his arms - despite the frenzy.
Last year Mulherin warned Queenslanders of the risk following "skylarking" close to shark nets and drumlines that had by that stage caught more than 550 sharks.
