Apparently, this is the year of so-called “monster sharks” as is evidenced by a Herald Sun article, Monster great white photographed in Port Phillip Bay. According to the story, Ray Theuma and Brian Bell, were fishing in Port Philip Bay (Australia) about 7km from shore, when a 4m great white shark approached their boat. According to Theuma, the shark touched the boat three times and circled it for approximately 10 minutes.

Much like another “monster shark” in the recent media, it’s unclear what the actual size of this recent “monster shark” is. The Herald Sun refers to it as a “4m monster” at one point, yet Theuma is quoted as saying the shark was the same size as his 4.6m boat. To further complicate the report, The Herald Sun lists the boat as being 4m and the shark being larger than the boat, in the text accompanying a photo gallery with images of the shark.

It is still unclear to me what criteria must be met for a shark to achieve the rank of “monster shark,” but I think it probably has something to do with trying to sell more newspapers.

In other (apparently non-monster) white shark news from the Herald Sun, a white shark snatched an oar from the hands of man in a surf boat off of Hawks Nest Beach. According to the Herald Sun, Greg Ross had a hold of the oar when he felt a “thump” and then saw the white shark “writhing” with the oar in its mouth. After a “good minute” the shark lost interest and swam away. Ross, who works as a volunteer lifeguard at the beach, said that the he and his colleagues see white sharks “all the time.” Ross went on to say that the white sharks, which he and his colleagues refer to as “pets,” do not worry them much.