A photo of a great white shark. (Photo: The Malibu Artist/AFP)
A man in his thirties was killed by a great white shark in Western Australia on Saturday, police and officials confirmed to AFP.
The 38-year-old man was bitten by the predator near Rottnest Island, outside Perth, at around 10am, police said.
“Unfortunately, the man could not be brought to his senses,” Western Australian police said.
The state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development told AFP the man was bitten by a four-metre long great white shark.
The public has been advised to be “extra cautious” in the waters around the area, which is a popular tourist destination.
It is the first fatal shark attack in Western Australia since March last year, when a surfer was attacked at a remote beach.
According to a database of shark incidents in Australia, there have been almost 1,300 shark incidents in the country since 1791, more than 260 of which were fatal.
Before Saturday’s incident, the latest death was a 12-year-old boy who died in Sydney Harbor after a shark attack in January.
That attack was one of four reported in two days, prompting authorities to close dozens of beaches around the city.
It was the third recent shark-related death in Sydney.
Australian scientists believe increasingly crowded coastal waters and rising ocean temperatures are affecting shark migration patterns, possibly contributing to an increase in attacks.