By Aaron Kelly and Freya Jetson, ABC
Stinger nets for swimmers in north Queensland are designed to keep out box jellyfish, not Irukandji. Photo: ABC News: Sharnie Kim
As Declan Hamilton swims through the balmy, crystal-blue waters of Australia's Cape York while spearfishing with friends, he is confronted by six sharks.
Swimming for his life, he fends them off with his bare hands, but they are not deterred.
As an aggressive bull shark lurches for his leg, he manages to scramble back into the group's boat just before it bites.
"We went up to Cape York in November (2024) with a couple of friends spearfishing at a reef off the coast there," Mr Hamilton said.
"One of the guys had shot a fish and as we came up to the surface he had drifted away from me a little bit.
"I looked back down and I had six sharks, a mixture between grey reef sharks and a couple of bull sharks, coming up to me.
"All of a sudden, they were acting pretty erratic and one bull shark came up to my chest and I couldn't track my spear gun around in time to poke him away."
The north Queensland spearfisherman said it was the most dangerous encounter with a shark he had experienced since he started spearfishing 10 years ago.
He knows he had a lucky escape, but others have not been as fortunate.
Rockhampton school chaplain and youth pastor Luke Walford was spearfishing with his family off Humpy Island, just south of Great Keppel Island, when he was fatally attacked on 28 December.
There were three other reported shark attacks in Queensland in 2024, according to the Australian Shark Incident Database.
Just weeks before the fatal attack at Humpy Island, another spearfisherman was bitten off Curtis Island near Gladstone, and there were other incidents off Mackay in October and at Bargara Beach in March.
Hamilton, who is a member of the Townsville Skindiving Club, said all spearfishers understood the risks involved every time they explored the underwater world.
"After that recent experience, I'm a little bit more cautious and try to really hone in on the risk mitigation things we put in place," he said.
"The obvious dangers are sharks all around Australia, and up in north Queensland you've got the added risk of crocodiles and stingers."
Stinger warning
Warmer water temperatures bring increased numbers of potentially deadly stingers to coastlines, especially in north Queensland.
The box jellyfish sting can cause paralysis, cardiac arrest, and death if left untreated.
Being stung is also excruciatingly painful.
Irukandji, a tiny jellyfish just one cubic centimetre in size, is not as venomous, but can cause fatal brain haemorrhages and requires immediate medical treatment.
North Queensland lifeguard supervisor Dee Westland said beachgoers should take precautions to protect themselves from being stung.
"The further north you go, the warmer the water gets, so you get more stingers," Westland said.
"The best thing is to swim in a netted enclosure wherever possible and swim between the red and yellow flags when there are lifeguards on duty.
"If you have access to a stinger suit, that's the best protection you can have against stingers. The more you're covered, the less surface area you have to be stung."
Since the stinger season began in November last year, there have been seven reported Irukandji stings in northern Queensland.
Multiple beaches, including Eimeo Beach in Mackay, were closed for short periods recently to remove box jellyfish.
Westland said both box jellyfish and Irukandji had been prevalent in the warmer waters.
"There are quite a lot of different types of jellyfish," she said.
"Not everything means that it's going to be fatal, or you're going to end up in hospital, so … speak to the lifeguards on duty and have a look at risk ratings on your beach report."
Snake season
While thousands of people are enjoying the sunshine state's waterways, there has also been a spike in reported snake bites so far this summer, according to Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS).
"You have to treat all snake bites as venomous bites until proven otherwise," operations supervisor Joseph O'Donnell said.
QAS data showed there were more than 1,000 snake bites across the state in 2024.
O'Donnell said it may seem impossible after the shock of a bite, but staying as calm as practicable made a huge difference.
"First [priority] is always danger, so always get yourself away from that snake, don't try and touch it or engage with it," he said.
"Once you have removed that danger, call triple-0 and it's then about first aid and immobilising wherever you've been bitten, and applying pressure to the affected area."
O'Donnell said having a first-aid kit at home or in the car could save your life.
The QAS also warned people to be aware of stonefish and stingrays lurking in the shallows after a recent spate of incidents across the state.
- ABC
