Man in his 30s attacked by a five-metre shark on Rottnest Island

Published: 05:31, 16 May 2026 | Updated: 05:54, 16 May 2026 A man has been attacked by a shark at a popular holiday island.  The incident happened at Rottnest Island, near Perth, about 10am on Saturday, a St John WA ambulance service spokesperson told AAP. The man, aged in his 30s, is in a critical condition.  A rescue helicopter has arrived at the island, 19km off the coast of Fremantle, to evacuate the man to hospital on the mainland.  The man was transported by boat to shore at Geordie Bay on the north side of the island.  A five-metre great white shark was spotted 80 metres offshore about the time of the attack, according to Surf Life Saving WA.  The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development urged people to take extra caution in the Geordie Bay area.  Rottnest Island, which measures 11km long by 4.5km wide, is a popular tourist destination. The incident happened at Rottnest Island, about 10am on Saturday (stock image) Rottnest Island sits 19km off the coast and is a popular tourist destination The comments below have been moderated in advance. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.