On 23 January Nerhus, 41, was diving with a buddy for abalones near Eden, in New South Wales, when the shark appeared and took the diver head-first into its mouth, enveloping him down to the chest.
Nerhus was fortunate to be released after gouging at the shark's eye with his abalone chisel. But despite some protection from his lead-lined vest, he received multiple lacerations, including a circle of tooth injuries from the top of one shoulder to beneath the opposite armpit that required 75 stitches. His mask was crushed and his nose broken.
Taken aboard his cover boat by his buddy and his teenage son as the shark circled tightly beneath his fins, Nerhus was rushed ashore and airlifted to hospital.
During recuperation, including physiotherapy to improve movement in his damaged shoulder, the diver told Australian media of recurring nightmares in which he experiences the sensation of being crushed, as if in a vice.
But now Nerhus has returned to abalone diving, telling the Daily Telegraph in Sydney: 'To be taken on the bottom, going head first into a great white was a very rare occasion. And I've learned a lesson. I won't be diving offshore in dirty water again.
His wife and two teenage children had asked him not to return to abalone diving. 'But diving and fishing are all I've done in my life,' he told the newspaper. 'There aren't many options here and it's not really the money. I just enjoy it.'
* In the USA, an award has been created in honour of the late Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws who became an ardent conservationist for great white and other sharks.
Created by the US-based Shark Research Institute, the first Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award ceremony was held at the Explorers Club New York on 8 May. It went to three individuals - Jason Holmberg, of Ecocean; Sonja Fordham, of Ocean Conservancy; and Rob Stewart, of Sharkwater.
The gala event was attended by marine conservationists and celebrities from around the world. Present were Benchley's widow, Wendy, and film-maker Stan Waterman, President of the Shark Research Institute.
Related links
The Nerhus attack Peter Benchley dies |
