Nelson Spearfisherman’s close encounter with the bronze whaler

Jahmon Wilson had just passed his first kingfish when a “hairy shark” snatched it from his hands.

The 18-year-old was freediving off Nelson’s Boulder Bank Thursday afternoon when he had his first encounter with a bronze whaler.

Wilson, a great spearfisher, grew up in Western Australia and had been diving since moving to Nelson 10 years ago. He had wanted to throw a kingfish for years and had just bought a bigger gun with the aim of firing the first one in Tasman Bay.

“Sharks will take your fish, but to take a fish out of my hand, I literally had my hand on its gills, that’s a brave shark man, that’s a confident shark, I never expected that to happen.”

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He had swam about 200 meters from shore with a partner, and in about 10 meters of water, he found a school of kingfish and managed to shoot one that was almost a meter long.

Wilson said he had been told there were sharks around, as fish had been stolen from other free divers, so he was quite cautious.

He was swimming towards his float with his prize fish, when the water began to churn beneath him.

“At first I thought that the fish still had a bit of life, then I turned around and saw the foamy water everywhere and the shark was like everywhere, it didn’t take long, it was only a couple of seconds.

It was thought to be a ten foot bronze whaler, but took off with Wilson’s kingfish. He towed it 20 meters or so through the water before his line of fire broke and he took the fish and the shaft of his spear with him.

“I knew he was only going for the fish, I knew he wasn’t in any real harm unless he held my hand.

“I don’t know if I would say I was scared, it was a unique experience, that’s for sure, it was exciting, just a rush of adrenaline.

“I was hoping that it would go through the king and take half and throw the rest away, it’s a pretty expensive kit so I wouldn’t let go of it.”

Wilson said he had to check that his hand was still intact before he recovered and swam to shore, where he saw a second, smaller shark swimming underneath him.

“It was the first time I saw bronzies and seeing them, much less having one to rip a kingfish from my hands, was simply a unique experience.

“I was upbeat for most of the day, until 10:30 pm when I calmed down a bit and fell down after all the adrenaline.”

Wilson said he was also excited to release his first kingfish, despite losing it to a shark and that he had been in awe of the creature when he saw it up close.

He said sharks often had a stigma associated with them.

“I think you have to realize that you are in their backyard and at the end of the day, they are just looking for the easiest food they can get and that could be the fish you have killed.”

I had noticed more fish in the bay this summer, with good fishing and diving, which meant there were more sharks around.

Wilson said the whale carcass seen recently in Tasmania Bay would have attracted sharks as well.

“They’re always out there, that’s the reality of being in their habitat, it’s their environment, so it’s always in the back of your mind that you could see sharks, so sometimes that kind of thing happens.”

Experience hadn’t deterred him from diving, he was back in the water on Friday morning and planned to hunt another kingfish once he had a new rifle.

“Hopefully I’ll get a king to shore next time.”