{"id":693140,"date":"2026-05-25T08:32:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/693140\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T08:32:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:32:20","slug":"death-of-michael-jensz-in-qld-shark-attack-brings-dangers-of-spearfishing-close-to-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/693140\/","title":{"rendered":"Death of Michael Jensz in Qld shark attack brings dangers of spearfishing ‘close to home’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Far North Queensland locals and members of the spearfishing community have expressed shock at the death of 39-year-old Michael Jensz from a shark attack at Kennedy Shoal.<\/p>\n

Mr Jensz, who lived at Mount Sheridan on Cairns’s south side, was spearfishing from a private boat at the reef site, 160 kilometres south of Cairns, at midday yesterday when he was attacked<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of his companions pulled him from the water and emergency services met the boat at Hull River boat ramp, but police said he died from a serious head wound.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, Inspector Elaine Burns said the species of shark involved in the attack was yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n

The Department of Primary Industries is involved in the investigation but declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Cassowary Coast mayor Teresa Millwood said, in a statement, that “thoughts are with the family at this incredibly difficult time”.<\/p>\n

“We wish them strength and love to get through this,” Cr Millwood said.<\/p>\n

\"portraits<\/p>\n

Ebony Harper says sharks cannot be blamed for the fatality. (ABC News: Rosanne Maloney)<\/p>\n

‘So close to home’<\/p>\n

Mission Beach spear fisher Ebony Harper said it was a reminder of the risks of spearfishing in the region.<\/p>\n

“I saw the police officer \u2026 at the ramp stopping people from coming in and you just think to yourself, ‘That could have been me out there today,'” Ms Harper said.<\/p>\n

“It just really hit because it was so close to home.<\/p>\n

“I’m sending my thoughts to family and friends. It’s really tragic.”<\/p>\n

Ms Harper said while Kennedy Shoal was not a common spearfishing location, it was not far from places she had been spearfishing.<\/p>\n

“The shark population there is certainly increasing and they’re becoming very in tune with the sound of motors, the sound of your spear gun,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

The group were spearfishing at Kennedy Shoal, approximately 50km offshore, when the man was attacked. (ABC Far North: Rosanne Maloney)<\/p>\n

Despite remaining vigilant, Ms Harper said it was easy to be surprised by sharks, and there was not much more individuals could do to protect themselves.<\/p>\n

“We can’t blame sharks. At the end of the day, you’re the one that’s in their environment and you’ve got to respect that, and just really be careful,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Maybe we do need to open up the conversation of specific species opening them up to commercial fishing I think it’s worth a discussion when family members aren’t coming home.”<\/p>\n

\"portraits<\/p>\n

Geoff Ryder is in favour of a conversation on culling sharks. (ABC News: Rosanne Maloney)<\/p>\n

Fishers ‘competing’ with bull sharks<\/p>\n

Tully Heads fisher Geoff Ryder said Kennedy Shoal was “reefy, rocky” with plenty of trout and mackerel.<\/p>\n

Mr Ryder said increasing numbers of bull sharks at the reef meant commercial fishers had to compete for catch.<\/p>\n

“I know with fishing, a lot more of your fish get taken by sharks and they’re big sharks,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

The man was brought to Hull River boat ramp but emergency services were unable to revive him. (ABC Far North: Rosanne Maloney)<\/p>\n

Mr Ryder believed because sharks could not be caught commercially, a cull may be needed.<\/p>\n

“The numbers are getting so high up north now and there’s no other control for them,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"headshot<\/p>\n

Jodie Rummer disputes that shark numbers are increasing. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)<\/p>\n

James Cook University marine biology professor Jodie Rummer disagreed, saying culling was not a solution.<\/p>\n

She said globally, some shark populations were struggling, while other species remained stable.<\/p>\n

“It’s probably one of the most imperilled groups of organisms on the planet right now,” she said.<\/p>\n

“What we can say with a lot more confidence is that there are more people in the water.”<\/p>\n

\"Satellite<\/p>\n

Kennedy Shoal and Otter Reef are on the Great Barrier Reef, about 50km offshore. (Google Maps)<\/p>\n

She said shark populations were affected by overfishing, bycatch, and climate change.<\/p>\n

“Culling is not addressing the problem,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s removing animals, but it doesn’t remove the environmental conditions and the human interactions that bring the sharks into the area.<\/p>\n

“Sharks are behaving normally. They’re doing what they do. They’re following food, they’re following the temperature.”<\/p>\n

\"Dr<\/p>\n

Johan Gustafson says many spearfishers understand shark behaviour. (Supplied: Johan Gustafson)<\/p>\n

Spearfishers ‘misidentified’ by sharks<\/p>\n

Shark expert Johan Gustafson told the ABC the activity of spearfishing meant people were much more likely to see sharks in active fishing behaviours.<\/p>\n

“You’re fishing while they’re fishing in their food source, you’re also creating a stressed fish when you shoot them, so this is just what’s going to happen, we can’t change that,” Dr Gustafson said.<\/p>\n

He said many spearfishers understood shark behaviour and said there had been a lot of education in recent years about avoiding murky water and areas with a lot of fish.<\/p>\n

He said if there was a large fish-feeding event or a bait ball, it was easier for divers to be “misidentified” by sharks engaging in feeding activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Far North Queensland locals and members of the spearfishing community have expressed shock at the death of 39-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[72,338175,43,338178,338177,44,338174,14322,253368,338176,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-693140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-cairns","tag-far-north-queensland-shark-attack","tag-headlines","tag-kennedy-shoal-sharks","tag-mihcael-jensz","tag-news","tag-queensland-shark-attack","tag-shark-attack","tag-shark-cull","tag-spearfishing-shark-attack","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}