A 35-year-old man has died after being attacked by a suspected 4.5-metre shark while spearfishing off Michaelmas Island, near Albany, in the third fatal shark incident in Australia within three weeks.
The man was with family when he was bitten just before 11.30 am on Saturday, 6t June 2026, around 13km off the Albany coast, 400km southeast of Perth.
He was brought by boat to Albany Marina with critical injuries, where St John Western Australia (WA) paramedics tried to save him.
"Sadly, he was unable to be revived," WA Police said in a statement.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner, but the species of shark involved has not yet been confirmed.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is assisting authorities.
Beachgoers have been warned to take extra care around Michaelmas Island, a popular tourist spot.
Reports said the Albany boat ramp was closed on Saturday as forensic officers examined the vessel involved.
Earlier on Friday, local surfers reported seeing a large shark near the island.
This is the second fatal shark attack in Western Australia this year, according to reports.
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On 16 May, Perth father-of-two Steven Mattaboni, 38, died after a suspected great white attack while spearfishing off Rottnest Island.
Mattaboni's friends performed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) as they rushed him to shore, but he could not be revived.
He had become a father for the second time just four months earlier.
The last fatal attack off Albany was in December 2014, when a man was bitten while spearfishing at Cheynes Beach.
The incident follows another shark encounter on Friday off the New South Wales north coast.
Surfer Alejo Santinaque, 20, escaped serious injury after a shark bit his foot near Red Cliff.
Santinaque reportedly applied a tourniquet with friends’ help before being taken to hospital for surgery.
"Considering what could have happened, I was very lucky," he wrote online.
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