Avid fisherman Paul Barning, 58, was taking part in the Game Fishing Association state tournament off the coast of New South Wales in Australia when he disappeared into the ocean
A fisherman remains missing after he was reportedly pulled overboard by a shark on the east coast of Australia.
Paul Barning, 58, was taking part in the Game Fishing Association state tournament off the Port Stephens coast near Newcastle in New South Wales, around three hours north of Sydney. NSW Police Superintendent Joe McNulty said in a press confernce on Monday that it is thought the boat was reeling in a big mako shark when Paul became tangled up in the fishing line.
“After the entanglement we believe the shark has submerged, pulling the man into that water. We believe the shark was quite large,” and that, “their vessel was only 6.8 metres in length.”
The police officer added: “That fishing line has pulled taut and maybe contributed to him going over the side of the vessel,” but that there was “no evidence” the shark attacked Paul when he was in the water.
The incident happened on Sunday at about 1:30pm – with Paul the skipper of the ‘Dark Horse’ fishing boat – and around 34 miles off the coast of Newcastle. The competition was called off immediately as a frantic search for the dad and experienced fisherman – who in 2021 caught a tiger shark more than 394kg – began.
Superintendent McNulty conceded the huge scale of the search operation across 1,500 nautical miles, which is set to carry on on Tuesday after fast-moving currents blighted efforts on Monday. He said: “It is a large search area, it’s 1,500 nautical miles at this stage, because the current is moving so fast,”
Steve Lamond, the NSW Game Fishing Association president and long-time friend of Paul described the incident as tragic. “He was basically dragged overboard, underwater and disappeared,” adding that, “he was tragically lost at sea in the most unlikely of circumstances whilst fishing on his boat.”
However, the president was also keen to dismiss any suggestions that a shark was involved in Paul’s sudden disappearance. He called it a, “very freak type accident and something that you are not likely to ever see again.”
Steve went on: “Definitely no shark attack, as such, involved. I know that has been reported, so I’d just please like to make that clear.
“It was absolutely just a freak tragedy that has occurred during an attempt to capture a fish. It’s never happened before in Australia to my knowledge.”
