Greg Pickering is in a stable condition after 10 hours of surgery in the wake of yesterday's horrifying attack.
Watch footage from a previous diving trip Greg Pickering and his friends embarked on, which also featured a cameo from a large shark.
Two-time shark attack victim Greg Pickering, 55, arriving at the Esperance Hospital by ambulance. Picture: Mick Sonneman. Source: PerthNow
Approximately the spot where a man in this 50s was attacked by a shark, 180kms east of Esperance. Source: PerthNow
The front page of The Sunday Times in 2004, featuring a story about the attack on Greg Pickering. Source: PerthNow
SHARK attack victim Greg Pickering has undergone 10 hours of surgery and is in a stable condition after yesterday's horrifying attack.
Mr Pickering - who survived an attack by a 1.5m bronze whaler in March 2004, while spearfishing with a friend about 9km off Cervantes - was working about 180km east of Esperance yesterday when he was attacked again, by what's believed to be a great white shark.
Just before 9am this morning a Royal Perth Hospital spokeswoman said Mr Pickering was out of surgery and in a stable condition. He is expected to speak to the media about his ordeal in the next few days.
Tonight, Nine News reports that Mr Pickering was bitten on the head and chest, and that he has lost an eye in the attack.
Nine News also reports that Mr Pickering endured hours of travelling by boat and car before he could receive medical treatment.
His quick-think diving colleagues applied pressure on his wounds with anything they could find as he endured a 40km boat tow back to shore.
At the same time, a crew on a nearby boat lent assistance and used a satellite phone to arrange a rendezvous point with paramedics.
Recent shark attacks in WA
Abalone diver Greg Pickering, who is also a game fisherman. Source: News Limited
Early this afternoon, the WA fisheries department cancelled a "catch and kill" order for the shark.
Director General Stuart Smith issued a statement saying the order had been cancelled because there was no longer an imminent risk of another attack.
"There have been no further sightings of a white shark in the area and it is likely that the shark responsible for the attack is no longer in this general locality," Mr Smith said.
"Efforts have also been made to advise people camping around Cape Arid about the incident which has reduced the likelihood of them entering the water."
Capture gear was deployed at the site of the attack yesterday and re-set at 5am this morning.
Earlier today, the department said the shark posed an imminent threat to campers to the area during school holidays.
But Mr Smith conceded this morning it was possible the wrong shark could be caught.
"We probably won't know for sure unless there's evidence of DNA that we will be able to test,'' he told ABC radio this morning.
Mr Smith admitted the DNA results would not come back until after the animal was killed.
But he added that the size of the animal would also help to determine if it was likely to be the shark that attacked Mr Pickering.
Mr Smith said the department's shark experts had informed him that the shark could have swum away from the area or it could remain lurking in the waters for some time.
It is the second time a kill order has been issued in WA.
On the previous occasion, two tiger sharks were caught and released after they were tagged, but the great white shark the department was looking for was not found, Mr Smith said.
A department spokeswoman said a decision on whether to continue with the kill action would be made this afternoon.
Australian Underwater Federation WA spearfishing representative Graham Carlisle told PerthNow that Mr Pickering was an active and respected member of WA's diving community and had held the position as records officer with the federation for many years.
"Greg has always been involved in the ocean life; he's spent a lot of his time in the water both for pleasure and for work," he said.
"He would have had a number of close calls, as would any spearfisherman.
"The more time in the water, the higher probability something will happen. That's just an accepted reality of the work.
"The guys are very cautious, they're very careful in general."
Mr Carlisle said the diving and spearfishing community was very close-knit in WA.
"All the abalone divers know each other and the spearfishermen are just as tight," he said.
A victim of a shark attack near Esperance is ferried by the Royal Flying Doctors at Jandakot. Picture: Jordan Shields Source: PerthNow
Emergency response to attack
Police were alerted to the attack at 10.25am yesterday morning. It's believed Mr Pickering suffered serious injuries.
He was taken to shore by divers on a nearby boat and transferred to Esperance Hospital by St John Ambulance just before 2pm.
Paramedics hand over a man who was attacked by a shark at Esperance Hospital. The 55-year-old male diver was working about 180km east of Esperance when he was attacked. Picture: Mick Sonneman Source: PerthNow
The Royal Flying Doctor Service landed at Jandakot Airport yesterday evening and transferred Mr Pickering to Royal Perth Hospital.
Diver working while attacked
Mr Pickering was working for Southern Wild Abalone when he was attacked.
The company's manager Marcus Tromp told the ABC a nearby diving vessel came to help the man, brought him back to shore and called for help.
The remote area of coast they were diving off is only accessible by 4WDs.
Mr Tromp said the man suffered "substantial injuries".
"Another diver's boat was in the vicinity so they have come to assist the crew, give first aid and obviously to bring the diver's vessel to shore and administer first aid while this diver remained on the deck of his boat and rendezvous with the ambulance," Mr Tromp said.
"He would have been preparing for his daily business and unfortunately this has occurred.
"Obviously, there has been some substantial injuries with any encounter with a shark but at this stage, again, still quiet sketchy."
Abalone diver Greg Pickering. Picture: Andrew Brooks Source: News Limited
Mr Tromp said the victim lived in the area and the company was liaising with his family.
"I understood that he was still conscious and in good hands as far as first aid goes," he said.
"All divers, especially at that age, have had a passion for the ocean for their entire life.
Diver Greg Pickering with his 307lb IBSRC world record yellowfin Tuna. Picture: Terry Maas. Source: PerthNow
Victim survived 2004 attack
Mr Pickering was spearfishing about five nautical miles from Cervantes when he was attacked twice by a 1.5m bronze whaler in March 2004.
The shark mauled his shin and calf, ripping through his wetsuit.
In an interview with the Ten Network, he said: "The shark just turned on me and charged at me and it latched onto my leg and it bit twice.
"It wasn't excruciating pain, I was surprised.
"I could see there was a big chunk of skin hanging off and the wetsuit was sort of holding it together."
He said he'd had many close encounters with sharks during more than thirty years of abalone diving.
"If sharks are hungry they can snap," he said.
"All can be calm and then they just explode into action."
Witness Alan Ogden told The Sunday Times at the time that Mr Pickering "was a pretty tough bloke".
"He was quite calm about it," Mr Ogden said.
"He said it was not hurting as much as he thought it would."
Abalone diver Greg Pickering stands on the upturned hull of his abalone boat at Thevenard Wharf in 2009. Picture: Andrew Brooks Source: News Limited
Fisheries adamant on shark threat
Fisheries Director General Stuart Smith said hooks and lines were set yesterday afternoon based on GPS coordinates from the diver's boat.
If they caught a "sizable white shark", he said it was likely it would be destroyed with a firearm or knife.
"My decision to give that order was based on our imminent threat guidelines," Mr Smith said.
"I found that there was a high hazard given an attack had occurred and we believe there's a reasonable likelihood that it is a white shark and therefore a species with a known history of attacking people.
"I took into account that it's currently school holidays and there are likely to be people on the south coast holidaying, camping and potentially using the water. I formed the view that there's an imminent threat of further attack.
"If a sizable white shark is caught in the waters over the coming hours, I am likely to give the order to destroy that shark. I don't have any particular desire to destroy a shark, but my overriding concern is to ensure public safety."
Fisheries Director-General Stuart Smith. Source: PerthNow
Mr Smith said about 130 sharks had been tagged off the coast of WA and SA, but it was not known whether the shark involved in today's attack was being monitored.
Mr Barnett government introduced a shark mitigation strategy, including "catch and kill" orders, last year following a spate of five fatal attacks in 12 months.
Recent sightings around WA
Surf Life Saving WA said 285 sharks were sighted in the metropolitan area and South-West WA in the past financial year, compared to 247 the previous year.
Fear of sharks turns away swimmers
In the South-West alone, 162 sharks were sighted last year, including a school of 60 hammer head sharks at Bunker Bay in January.
SLSWA carried out 751 patrol hours in 2012/13, up from 620 hours in 2011/12.
- with AAP
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