An underwater shark attack victim has spoken out about how her husband fought off the beast and the time a great white got into her leg surfing.
Chantelle Doyle (35), a skilled surfer, went on a trip with Mark to Port Macquarie, on the NSW Mid-North Coast, in 2020.
They took to the water with ease on a sunny and beautiful day, Ms Doyle stating that nothing was unusual.
However, the peaceful setting was destroyed at 9.30am when a great-white shark struck “underneath” my board. She hit me straightaway, Ms Doyle said to 60 Minutes.
She was unable to release the shark from her leg. Her thoughts turned immediately to how anyone could reach her before she was dragged under.
After the attack by great white sharks, Ms. Doyle (35) has had 15 months of rehabilitation and microsurgery.
Mark was surfing around 10m from the sharks and saw them near Mark’s leg.
“So I ditched my board to start throwing whaling punches. You just had to throw it as hard as you could, until it let go. He said.
‘[I was looking]You are dead set in your eye. I have a very strong memory of that black eye.
He claimed that he was aiming his punches towards the shark’s nose to make it more sensitive.
He was successful in getting Chantelle on shore by using the blows.
After 15 months of painful rehabilitation, microsurgery and physiotherapy on her leg, Ms. Doyle is back in the water.
“Muscle, bone and ligament are all necessary for a successful operation,” she stated.
The majority of my leg, save for my arteries was damaged. Had my artery been struck… This conversation is not for me.
Ms. Doyle claimed that the shark bit missed her leg, which was why she survived. (Photo:
Although Ms Doyle is a rare case, the number of shark attacks occurring in Australia and around the world are increasing.
In Australia there had been 82 shark attacks recorded in the 1990s. This number jumped to 161 the next decade.
From 2010 to 2020 there were 220 and in 2021 there have been 18 attacks so far with two of them confirmed as deadly.
A great white attack struck Western Australia in November.
Paul Millachip (57), is thought to have been taken on Saturday by a shark while he was swimming. His goggles were all that could be found following a thorough search.
She was a keen swimmer, runner and cyclist, when the noise came to her.
According to her, Mark, Mark’s husband paddled up and punched the shark in its nose, causing the shark to swim away.
Dr Paul Butcher from the Department of Primary Industries is a researcher doing groundbreaking work on tracking shark movements – particularly great whites – to better understand how they migrate in an attempt to keep beaches safer.
With 700 great-white sharks and 200 Tiger sharks in their care, his group leads the way worldwide. There are also nearly 200 bull sharks that have been geo-located with geolocating devices.
“There are many new technologies we are developing.”
“And we now know, on our shores, exactly what they eat. And how large is their population.
Nathan Hart, Macquirie Univeristy’s shark researcher is studying them in an innovative way: their psychology.
According to him, shark attacks can sometimes be misidentified. In some instances the shark may just be looking around and then veering into the path of the surfer.
Because of shark sightings (pictured), and one attack on a WA beach, many beaches in WA were shut down for November.
‘People being in the water year round in things like wetsuits, The growth of the population is not enough. People who use beaches are more likely to be around sharks. Professor Hart stated.
“I don’t believe that sharks are changing it’s just the circumstance.”
An experimental deterrent that utilizes lights to repel sharks is being developed by him.
As the intensity of sunlight through water decreases, brighter light makes our eyes sensitive.
‘Based on our work on the visual system, we’re trying to manipulate how the surface, would appear to a shark.’
As a safety precaution, the research may lead to the installation of lights underneath surfboards.
Callum Brown, Macquarie University’s Professor of Shark Attacks said that despite increasing shark attacks, they remain extremely rare.
Chantelle Doyle (pictured) was on holiday in Port Macquarie, when Mark Doyle attacked Ms Doyle. However, she is now back in the water
He said that the old methods such as drumlines, nets and culls for shark control were being replaced by newer, more precise methods.
A drone can scan water to send images to an artificial intelligence machine that will spot sharks.
Personal deterrents can also be employed by emitting an electric pulse, but they must be placed within a few metres of a shark for them to work.
Finally, you can get camouflage surfboard and wetsuit decals that will prevent surfing from becoming like a seal to hungry sharks.