South African police search for body of man believed to have been killed by shark off South Australia's west coast

South Australian police are searching for the body of a man believed to have been killed by a shark off the state’s west coast.

Emergency services were called to Granites Beach, 30 kilometers southwest of Streaky Bay, shortly after 7pm on Thursday evening following reports of a surfer being captured by a shark.

Police and state emergency services crews searched the area on Thursday evening for the 28-year-old Port Lincoln man.

The beach has been closed and police are asking people to avoid the area.

Senior Constable Rebecca Stokes said a surfboard was recovered.

“I understand that someone came out on a jetski immediately after the attack, which was extremely brave of them and was able to recover the surfboard,” she said.

“But there was just no sign of this young man, there was just no sign of him.

“Based on the witness descriptions, we are pretty sure that he was unfortunately killed by this shark.

“From what I understand of the terrain and the waves there, we know it’s frequented by sharks.”

Police said additional resources would be deployed on Friday as part of water operations and PolAir if conditions permitted.

They said they were preparing a report for the coroner.

Jeff Schmucker, a Streaky Bay resident and commercial fisherman, said he has been concerned about potential shark activity for several days.

A man wearing a sweater and beanie stands on a pier and looks at the camera with a serious expression — Jeff Schmucker, a local resident and fisherman, says he has heard of an aggressive shark in the area. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

“Three days ago there was a 16-foot great white shark in a meter and a half of water just 10 or 15 kilometers to the north,” he said.

“From the start, this worried me.

“There was one caught on a long line the same day in Ceduna.”

He said the combination of warm weather, good surf forecasts and lots of people in the water was a “recipe for disaster”.

Mr Schmucker posted a warning on social media yesterday about an “aggressive great white” at Granites, after learning from a local fisherman that his traps had been damaged.

A beach with a dune and an ocean — Tod Gendle was captured by a shark on Granite Beach in 2023. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

There were six shark attacks over an eight-month period along the South African coast in 2023, three of which were fatal.

In late 2023, Tod Gendle, 55, was captured by a shark on the same beach.

Witnesses said at the time that Mr Gendle was paddling in the water when he was knocked off his surfboard by the shark on October 31, 2023.

Days later, Mr Gendle’s family released a statement through the police, expressing their grief and thanking those involved in the search.

The body of the 55-year-old man was never found.