MELBOURNE, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A fisherman from Western Australia (WA) said a device that uses an electromagnetic field to deter sharks saved him from an attack by a Great White Shark.
The fisherman, who remains unidentified, said he was fishing on his kayak off the coast of Cockburn Sound, 40 km south of Perth, when the large shark, which he identified as a Great White, started lurking around his boat.
In a post on social media accompanied with a short video of the encounter, the man described the ordeal as a fishing trip "cut short by an unexpected visitor".
"I had just lost a good sized Pink Snapper when I heard a large splash behind me, when I turned around I was greeted with a four meter shark," he wrote.
"I'm no expert but it's most likely a great white. It followed me for about two or three minutes and disappeared when it came within range of my shark shield."
A shark shield is an electronic device which is attached to a boat or surfboard that emits a three-dimensional electrical wave that affects short-range electrical receptors in a shark's snout and causes unbearable spasms for the shark.
The device is described as the world's only scientifically proven and independently tested electrical shark deterrent on the company's website.
In the video the fisherman is visibly worried as the shark approaches his kayak.
"A great white's following me, man... It's big whatever it is," he said.
Shortly after, the shark turns and disappears but the fisherman is still concerned by its presence.
"Now that I can't see him, I'm worried, it's pretty big," he said in the video.
Shark sightings have become increasingly common off the coast of WA in 2016 with authorities forced to close Trigg Beach, one of Perth's most popular surf spots, after 60 reported shark sightings in two months over winter.
The WA Department of Fisheries reported in August that shark sightings in the state had almost tripled from 534 in the first half of 2015 to 1,460 in the same time period in 2016.
