Whitsundays shark attack: Woman and girl bitten on Hamilton Island by suspected toadfish

A girl remains in hospital in a stable condition after being attacked in the Whitsunday Islands by what was believed to be a shark.

An elderly woman was also bitten while the pair were wading in shallow waters at Catseye Beach on Hamilton Island about 9.30am on Thursday.

It’s been suggested, however, that a toadfish and not a shark may have been responsible for the attack.

“Independent testing has suggested a fish was responsible in this instance, not a shark,” a spokesman for Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told AAP. Queensland Ambulance countered this claim, confirming the bites were made by a shark.

The nine-year-old girl was transferred by boat to Proserpine Hospital for treatment for a bite to her foot.

The woman remained on the island and was treated at a local medical centre for a wound on her right leg.

Neither injuries are life-threatening, with Hamilton Island operators saying the animal was believed to be less than a metre long.

The beach has been closed pending further safety checks.

It comes after Victorian man Daniel Christidis, 33, died in November after being bitten by a shark at Cid Harbour during a trip with friends and colleagues.

That incident followed separate attacks on Tasmanian woman Justine Barwick and Victorian Hannah Papps, 12, within 24 hours in September.

Shark expert Samantha Munroe said it was difficult to say what was behind the string of attacks given the Whitsundays has had low numbers of attacks, despite being home to dangerous tiger and bull shark species.

But she said an increase in the number of people in waters across Australia had correlated with a rise in attacks over the past 50 years.

“Attacks are extremely rare in the Whitsundays,” Dr Munroe said.

“There are no solid theories that really exist to explain why most shark attacks occur or why there would be a spike following what has essentially been a very long period of no attacks in the area.

“There has been an increase in attacks in the past several decades, but globally and national this increase is consistent with increases in our population and the number of people who visit the beach to swim, or snorkel or surf.

“At a national level, that’s probably the best explanation for current trends.”

Mr Christidis’ death sparked calls for greater shark control measures in the Whitsundays, with the state government responding with more funding for research into the increase in shark activity in the area, as well as an ongoing “sharkwise” program.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7zZqroqeelrlwvdSenKernJa7pXvNnq6sZ5FixrDBzaBkoKGioXqiusNmmGavn6Kur3nBoqutnZ5ir7p50qGYq6NdnrtuvcudqmavmJ7BtMHNnZiyq1%2Bjsri%2FjKyrqKqpZINzg5RxbmluZGmDp62UcWybb2GWsqaEkJybbZuUaYSi