Authorities in Australia are still searching for a 58-year-old man who was lost at sea while fishing in a tournament over the weekend. The man, an experienced and well-known angler named Paul Barning, was reportedly reeling in a shark when he got tangled in his line and pulled into the Pacific Ocean. Barning is now feared dead due to strong ocean currents and the fact that he wasn’t wearing a life jacket.
The incident took place Sunday around 1 p.m., according to The Guardian. Barning and three other anglers were competing in a fishing tournament hosted by the New South Wales Game Fish Association. They were roughly 30 miles offshore from Port Stephens and fishing aboard Barning’s boat, Dark Horse, when the incident, which the NSWGFA called a “devastating accident,” took place. Barning was a past president and the current secretary of the organization.
New South Wales police superintendent Joe McNulty confirmed with reporters Monday that Barning was pulled overboard while battling a shark near the side of their boat. Although initial reports mentioned a great white shark, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the big fish was more likely a mako.
“What we can confirm is the vessel had hooked up a shark in its fishing gear and they were trying to retrieve the shark, usually for a tag and release program,” McNulty said Monday. “We believe the shark was quite large — the vessel was only [22-feet] in length itself so during that process of bringing the shark alongside, he [had] become entangled in the fishing line and the shark [had] taken off.”
McNulty said there was no evidence that the shark attacked Barning while he was in the water. This false report was also corrected by NSWGFA president Steve Lamond, who started a GoFundMe page for the Barning family and said he has known Barning for 20 years.
“As most of you are now probably aware we lost a much loved and revered member of our community during the NSWGFA Interclub tournament,” Lamond said in a statement issued Monday, in which he offered condolences to Barning’s family and thanked the other tournament anglers who helped with the initial search efforts. “He was tragically lost at sea in the most unlikely of circumstances … Some reports you may have seen indicate he was attacked by a shark after falling overboard, this is fabricated and untrue news reporting.”
McNulty told reporters that search efforts were hampered Monday by fast-moving currents. He said crews would resume those efforts Tuesday, searching a roughly 1,500-square-mile area of the Pacific. McNulty added that the ongoing search might not have been necessary had Barning been wearing a life jacket at the time.
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“This devastating accident highlights the risks involved in doing what we all love, game fishing,” Lamond said. “Please look out for each other and stay safe.”
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