An Auckland man has filmed the moment he came into contact with a shark while spear fishing near Omaha, north of Auckland.
Anton Oleinik was swimming alone at Ti Point for an hour on December 9 when he found a big school of kingfish.
The Russian spear fisherman took to Facebook saying he was pulling in a kingfish when he felt a strong squeeze on his knee before realising a bronze whaler shark had got a hold of him.
"My first thought – that is one strong kingfish. Head back down – huge bronzie attached to my leg."
Mr Oleinik says he was wearing knee padding and three layers of neoprene which prevented serious injury to his leg.
In a Facebook post he says he dropped everything in his hand and swam back to shore, only later going back to retrieve everything, but his spear.
Mr Oleinik posted video of the encounter on Facebook saying he was unaware at the time of the attack his GoPro camera recorded the whole ordeal.
Mr Oleinik told NZ Herald he has shaken off the attack and went back to the same area a few days later where he managed to find another shark swimming in the bay.
Now the spear fisherman is urging people not to dive alone saying its important to know your surroundings.
"It would have helped with being aware of what was around us… It was a really close call. It could have gone horribly wrong," Mr Oleinik told NZ Herald.
SHARE ME