A Far North Queensland spearfisher says he thought he was going to die when he was attacked by a shark while diving in shallow water off the Far North Queensland coast.
Phillip Brown, 24, was spearfishing for barramundi near a rocky islet about 300 metres off the beach at Yarrabah on Sunday when he came face to face with a bull shark.
"I knew what was going to happen," he said.
"I knew it's a bull shark — he's gonna have a go at me.
"I was still a long way from the rock so I tried to swim a bit faster.
"Just as I grabbed the rock he came up from behind and grabbed my leg.
"I grabbed my little speargun, spun around and stabbed him in the top of the head with the gun and he took off."
'Losing a lot of blood'
Mr Brown managed to haul himself onto a partially submerged rock but the shark had not given up.
"He kept circling and kept coming back because I was losing a lot of blood," he said.
Mr Brown said he called out to friends and family on his boat nearby and, once onboard, created a makeshift bandage with his nephew's shirt and a tourniquet with the anchor rope.
On their way back to land they were were faced with a low tide, restricting access to the beach.
"Because it was my boat I just said to my mate, 'Just keep going, brother — drive it through the mud. Just get me to the bank,'" Mr Brown said.
"We got just close enough for them to carry me up and chuck me in the back of the truck and take me up to hospital."
After receiving immediate treatment at Yarrabah Hospital Mr Brown was flown by helicopter to Cairns Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
'Wrong place … wrong time'
Mr Brown says he will be back in the water once he has recovered from his weekend ordeal.
"I go a lot of places diving — Batt Reef, Tongue Reef, all the outer reefs," he said.
"And then I get torn up at home, right in my own front yard — it was just the wrong place at the wrong time I guess.
"I'll be going back diving, but I won't be diving back at home.
Mr Brown remains in hospital awaiting further surgeries to his leg.
