A year after the Margaret River Pro was abandoned due to shark attacks in the area, surfers have been plucked from the water during a quarter final after a shark was spotted behind Main Break.
Surfers Seth Moniz and Kolohe Andino were called in midway through their quarter-final. Jet-skis picked the pair up, and the heat was delayed for around 20 minutes while officials waited for the shark to move on.
Champion surfer Kelly Slater competes at Margaret River on Friday. Competitors were taken from the break on jet skis on Sunday after a shark was spotted just before 4pm local time. Credit:World Surf League
"We just spotted a shark in the water, it was spotted by a surfer, a free surfer at first and then by a drone," World Surf League commissioner Renato Hickel said. "We took the surfers out of the water by jet ski and we are assessing the situation. It (the shark) is swimming out and as soon we are confident we can restart we will."
Once the surfers re-entered the water Hickel said he was 'confident with the safety procedures in place' which included seven jet skis.
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"We are going to have a dedicated drone for the surfers and another one surveying the area," he said.
Two non-fatal shark attacks in the area caused last year's competition to be cut short at round three and the remainder of the event to be completed in Indonesia.
Top-ranked Brazilian competitors Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira expressed concerns for their safety on social media after last year's scare but were convinced to return to the venue after a range of safety measures were implements, including a shark-spotting boat and more jet skis to provide pick-ups.
In thRead More – Source
A year after the Margaret River Pro was abandoned due to shark attacks in the area, surfers have been plucked from the water during a quarter final after a shark was spotted behind Main Break.
Surfers Seth Moniz and Kolohe Andino were called in midway through their quarter-final. Jet-skis picked the pair up, and the heat was delayed for around 20 minutes while officials waited for the shark to move on.
Champion surfer Kelly Slater competes at Margaret River on Friday. Competitors were taken from the break on jet skis on Sunday after a shark was spotted just before 4pm local time. Credit:World Surf League
"We just spotted a shark in the water, it was spotted by a surfer, a free surfer at first and then by a drone," World Surf League commissioner Renato Hickel said. "We took the surfers out of the water by jet ski and we are assessing the situation. It (the shark) is swimming out and as soon we are confident we can restart we will."
Once the surfers re-entered the water Hickel said he was 'confident with the safety procedures in place' which included seven jet skis.
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"We are going to have a dedicated drone for the surfers and another one surveying the area," he said.
Two non-fatal shark attacks in the area caused last year's competition to be cut short at round three and the remainder of the event to be completed in Indonesia.
Top-ranked Brazilian competitors Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira expressed concerns for their safety on social media after last year's scare but were convinced to return to the venue after a range of safety measures were implements, including a shark-spotting boat and more jet skis to provide pick-ups.
In thRead More – Source
