Fisherman Regularly Chased By '200 Hungry Sharks'

A fisherman has revealed that he is regularly chased by 200 sharks.

Fisherman Wayne McManus works off the Gold Coast, Australia, and says that people simply don't realise how many sharks there are in the water.

He has taken to sharing videos online to show what it's really like out there for fishermen, with footage of dozens of deadly sharks chasing them down.

Speaking about his almost nightly run-ins with the sharp-toothed predators, he said: "That's just, like, an every day occurrence to us, you might see 100 to 200, ya know, it just all depends.

"See, people don't realise how many sharks there are around out at sea, ya know, people only see pictures of them.

"And to be able to see the video of how many there actually are, it's just unbelievable."

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Wayne revealed that due to the amount of boats that are out fishing on the seas these days, sharks have become accustomed to an 'easy meal'.

Rather than having to hunt for food, they have learned that they are able to get it straight from the boats.

He explained: "Whenever we winch the nets up, like, the sharks get attracted to the noise of the engines, and with the bright lights, whenever the lights come on the sharks get to know there's food coming, and that's what attracts them around the vessels."

And with more sharks on their tail, the risks for fishermen have increased too.

He said: "If you happen to fall over the side, they would just maul you.

"You see what they do to some of the stuff we do throw back over, and it wouldn't be good outcome, I don't think."

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But not only that, it's also bad for business.

Wayne says that if they manage to get to the fish they have caught, it badly impacts him and his crew financially.

"If the sharks bite the nets, we lose the product that's in the nets, and that affects the livelihood of everyone," he said.

"And with the fishing, the numbers are more and more, and it's just going to be harder and harder to actually make a living.

"If something's not done shortly, even for the recreational people, for the amateur that wants to go out and catch a fish, he won't be able to because the sharks have to eat and they're like a scavenger of the sea, ya know, like, they'll eat anything."

Topics: Sharks, Food, Fish, Australia

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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