While they may look frightening, grey nurse sharks (Carcharias taurus) are generally harmless to people but have been greatly depleted through fishing.What does it look like? Grey Nurse Shark Portrait of a Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus).Green Island, South West Rocks, NSW . But the by-catch included a critically endangered grey nurse shark, 11 threatened turtles and four dolphins. Grey nurses are normally pretty tame; I guess that shark was a bit rowdy." Grey nurse sharks are strictly fish eaters and are totally harmless, but last century they were wrongly blamed for many shark attacks on people in Australia. Summary. The heavily pregnant ragged tooth shark, also known as a grey nurse shark, bites the diver on the arm and thrashes him around in the blood-filled water. [1] Four species of sharks account for the vast majority of fatal attacks on humans: the bull shark… The 18-year-old surfer attacked near Dawesville yesterday was bitten by a grey nurse shark, Fisheries Department experts have revealed. See a complete timeline of Australian shark attacks here. Help! A grey nurse shark is deemed responsible for an attack on 18-year-old surfer Eli Zawadzki at Pyramid Beach, south of Perth, with authorities describing it as a rare occurrence. A GREY nurse shark was probably responsible for biting 18-year-old Eli Zawadzki on the foot in waters south of Perth, the Department of Fisheries says. As the population of ... and grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus) (fi gure 3). The grey nurse shark has a large stout body, grey to greyish-brown above and off-white below. Otway, N. 2001. Grey nurse shark responsible for attack on WA bodyboarder. Image: David Harasti A new estimate of adult population size for Australia’s eastern Grey Nurse Shark population drew on widespread genetic sampling and forensic exploration of family trees. Grey Nurse Shark. According to the Australian Shark Attack File, kept by researchers at Sydney’s Taronga Conservation Society, there have been 877 shark attacks in Australia since records began in 1791, and 216 of these have been fatal. Thursday, 8 October 2015 4:19PM. Nature Australia 26 (12): 20-21. AUSTRALIAN SHARK ATTACKS By John West ... Taronga Zoo, PO Box 20 Mosman, New South Wales, 2088 Australia Introduction Sharks occur in all the coastal waters and estuarine habitats around the 27 000 km of Australia’s coast. ... grey nurse sharks are not a target species for shark mitigation programs in Australia," a department spokesperson said. There are no confirmed human deaths from grey nurse shark attacks. All up, about 30 per cent of shark attacks are fatal. However, Grey Nurse Sharks ( Carcharias taurus ). The West Australian. The grey nurse shark used to be a relatively abundant species down the east coast of Australia. The Australian Shark Attack File has recorded that since 1791 there have been 639 shark attacks in Australia with 190 of them being fatal. These include the Great White shark… "The only other time I have had trouble with a shark was when a bull shark chased me to the shore. Man Attacked By Shark in Australia: Nurse Shark Bites Legs Of Fisherman Alan Saunders ... Saunders was attacked by a grey nurse shark and suffered deep puncture wounds. There are a number of sharks found in Australia. Grey Nurse Shark in Fish Rock Cave, South West Rocks, New South Wales. Fish Rock Cave, South West Rocks, NSW Grey nurse sharks are strictly fish eaters and are totally harmless, but last century they were wrongly blamed for many shark attacks on people in Australia. Now they may disappear within the next few decades. Grey nurse shark attacked Dawesville surfer. Shark attack at Dawesville Credit: The West Australian. The Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus) has an unfortunate history along the east coast of Australia.In the 1950s and 60s they were thought to be responsible for the shark attacks off Sydney's beaches. One of the first shark species to be protected was the grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus).The biology, distribution and conservation of this species are dealt with in the following paragraphs with a main focus on Australia as it was here it first became protected. "We knew they were around. What is a grey nurse shark? Australia's eastern Grey Nurse Shark population is Critically Endangered and population monitoring is the primary objective of the national recovery plan. The grey nurse shark, also known as the sand tiger shark or spotted ragged-tooth shark, can grow to 3.6 metres long.