Tasmania shark attack: Boy dragged from boat by Great White

Mauling prompts fears area’s predators are becoming bolder in search for food

A 10-year-old boy has been dragged from a boat by a shark off the coast of Tasmania prompting fears the area’s predators are becoming increasingly bold in their search for food.

The youngster was rushed to hospital suffering cuts and bite marks across his arms, chest and head following the attack on Friday.

He was only saved after his father jumped into the water to fight off the animal – believed to be a Great White.

“The boy, from the North-West, was aboard a six-metre vessel on a fishing expedition about five kilometres from shore with his father and two other men when a shark grabbed him from the boat,” Ambulance Tasmania said in a statement.

“The boy’s father jumped into the water at which point the shark swam off.”

The child is now in a stable condition in hospital, they added.

But a local fisherman in the town of Stanley told Australia’s ABC News on Saturday that it may be proof the animals were daring to come closer to humans in search of prey.

David Hursey said: “You don’t see this sort of thing happen this time of year, never have, but the amount of seals out here, the way it is these days they’ll come in and feed, [and attack] anything that looks like a free meal.”

He added: “If you’ve got them around here this time of year, wait till summer and they will be even worse.”

The attack came just seven days after a 17-year-old surfer was killed by a shark off the New South Wales coast last weekend – the fifth fatal attack in the country this year.

The previous weekend, a 36-year-old man died after being mauled while spearfishing off Queensland’s Fraser Island.