Overview
- A 35-year-old spearfisher, Daniel Turpin, was fatally bitten near Michaelmas/San Miguel Island and taken by boat to Albany where paramedics could not revive him following Saturday's attack.
- Albany police and the Western Australia Department of Primary Industries are collecting evidence and will prepare a report for the coroner as investigators work to confirm the details.
- Authorities suspect a great white of about 4.5 metres was responsible, based on on-site observations reported by investigators.
- The death brings Australia’s 2026 confirmed fatality count to four and has intensified local reports of increased great white sightings even as the WA minister says recorded interactions this year do not show a sustained rise.
- Scientists tell reporters the cluster of attacks is more likely linked to greater human use of coastal waters and climate-driven shifts in marine species distribution than to a sudden change in shark behaviour, which could affect future safety measures and local fishing practices.