Video Captures Shark Almost Biting Teen's Hand Off While Spearfishing

Jahmon Wilson, 18, had landed a large kingfish when he was warned by other spearfishers that sharks were about.

However, before he had a chance to grab his gun and head back to shore, a bronze whaler shark suddenly snatched his fish - missing his hand by inches.

The shark then dragged Jahmon through the water for about 20 metres before eventually severing the line.

Jahmon said: "Originally I thought the kingfish just had a bit more life in it, because sometimes they still have nerves and they still kick around.

"Then I felt the force of the shark hit me and the kingfisher ripped out of my hands, and at that point everything was just big white water.

"I was holding on to my speargun which was attached to the spearfish - so it towed me through the water for about 20 metres before cutting through the line."

Generally, bronze whalers - also known as copper sharks - don't tend to be aggressive, meaning Jahmon believes the one he encountered meant no harm.

He said: "The guy I was in the water with is an underwater photographer and has spent heaps of time with sharks, and he was extremely surprised at what had happened as well.

"The guy said that he was looking for the first thing he could find to make a tourniquet so he was thinking worst case scenario.

"I was probably quite lucky not to at least get my hand nicked or bitten, or even to have lost my hand."

"I guess I'm just lucky that the shark had good aim and bit into the kingfish instead of me."

Jahmon explained that, unlike great white sharks, bronze whalers aren't man-eaters and 'don't often attack people'.

He said: "They can get pretty close and they can steal your fish, but very, very, very rarely will they eat a fish out of your hand like that.

"That's a really ballsy, really confident shark.

"He just wanted a free, easy feed and if that meant stealing the kingfish out of my hand then that was it for him."

Jahmon had been looking forward to feeding the kingfish to his friends and family, but said he just felt grateful nothing worse had happened.

"If I didn't get it on camera, I would have been a little more sour about it," he continued.

"But coming out of the water, you just can't really be mad about an experience like that.

"It's an experience that probably only a handful of people in the world will ever have, so just that experience alone was probably worth losing the fish."

He added: "With the sharks, we are in their back yard.

"So you just have to treat them with respect and as long as you don't pose a threat to them, they probably won't pose a threat to you."