Shark attack that killed British tourist officially classed as 'provoked incident'
26 April 2023, 13:35
The death of a British man who was mauled by a great white shark off the coast of Australia has officially been classified as a 'provoked incident'.
Afghan veteran Simon Nellist, 35, was swimming in waters near Sydney when the 15-foot beast attacked him on February 16, 2022. He was the first fatal victim of a shark attack in Sydney in 60 years.
Cornish-born Mr Nellist, a former RAF gunner who survived two tours of Afghanistan, died just 500ft from horrified beachgoers off Little Bay, east of the Australian city.
The International Shark Attack File documents all incidents around the world, classifying them based on their specific circumstances.
According to the report, Mr Nellist's death was determined to have been the result of a 'provoked incident'.
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Gavin Naylor, the director for the Florida Programme for Shark Research, told the YouTube channel Shark Bytes: "The Simon Nellist incident is not included in the stats [for unprovoked attacks] because we do not consider it an unprovoked incident.
"While Mr Nellist did nothing consciously to provoke an incident, he was swimming in an area where people were fishing.
"Fishing is an activity that draws sharks in. We therefore consider it provoked for our purposes.
"We are assiduous about focussing on unprovoked bites because we want to understand the natural behaviours of the animals.
"Any factor that draws sharks to an area (fishing, chumming, scalloping, etc.) or behaviour that goad the shark, riding them, petting them, feeding them (you might be surprised what people do!) are thought to induce behaviours that are not 'typical'."
Speaking at the time of his death, Mr Nellist's family said: "Simon had a great passion for nature and the sea, as well as being a very talented photographer".
Saying they would "miss him terribly", they added: "Simon was a gentle, kind and wonderful human being. He was a cherished fiancée, son, brother, uncle and friend.
"Simon was funny, compassionate and always had time for people. He had a rare gift of instantly being able to connect with others, gaining their trust and respect."
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In the days that followed the deadly attack, it emerged that Mr Nellist was killed just days before safety lines to stop sharks getting close to the coast were due to be installed.
Sydney authorities had pencilled in the work for the area where he died before the end of February.
Relatives said his distraught mother was left wondering 'how could he return from the frontline (of Afghanistan) unscathed to then go to Australia, go out for a swim and get killed'.
