A 39-year-old man died after a shark attack while fishing on the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland, Australian police said.

The incident occurred on Sunday at Kennedy Shoal, a shallow reef located about 45 km from Queensland’s northeast coast. Police said the man had travelled there with three others in a 7 m boat.

Queensland Police Service Inspector Elaine Burns said the man was believed to have been spearfishing before he was attacked. He sustained a critical head injury and was pulled from the water by another person who was also in the water at the time.

Emergency services were contacted, but the return trip to shore took more than an hour. The man was declared dead after the boat reached the ramp. Police did not name him.

Authorities said the shark species had not been identified. No other injuries were reported.

The death came after another fatal shark attack near Perth in Western Australia on 16 May 2026, when a 38-year-old man was killed off an island.

According to conservation group data cited in the source, Australia records about 20 shark attacks annually, with most not resulting in death. Beach drownings remain more frequent than shark fatalities.

Source: Reuters