Man dies in shark attack off Queensland's Kennedy Shoal

A 39-year-old man died after being attacked by a shark at Kennedy Shoal, a reef site off Queensland’s Cassowary Coast that is popular with recreational fishers and divers. He was pulled from the water and later died from his injuries after emergency services were called to the Hull River boat ramp, about 160 kilometres south of Cairns.

Queensland Police said officers were notified just after 12pm on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after reports of a shark attack near Tully Heads and Hull Heads. The attack is understood to have happened at Kennedy Shoal, a shallow reef roughly midway between Mission Beach and Cardwell in far north Queensland. Police said a report will be prepared for the coroner.

The death came just over a week after another fatal shark attack in Australia. On May 16, 2026, 38-year-old Steven Mattaboni was killed in an attack off Rottnest Island in Western Australia, a reminder that while such incidents remain rare, they can strike in different parts of the country within days of one another.

Kennedy Shoal sits in a stretch of coastline better known for its access to the Great Barrier Reef than for frequent attacks. The area’s draw is part of the risk equation: shallow reef sites attract fishing and diving activity, often in remote waters where response times depend on boats, weather and the speed of alerts from bystanders on the water.

The fatality also comes as Queensland faces renewed scrutiny over how it manages shark risk along its coastline. The Queensland Government has announced an additional $88.228 million over four years for its Shark Control Management Plan 2025-2029, a program that combines shark nets, drumlines, drone surveillance and whale-deterrent measures at selected beaches.

That spending underscores the institutional challenge for authorities: shark encounters cannot be eliminated, but public warnings, surveillance and control measures are meant to reduce the likelihood of tragedy and improve the speed of response when incidents occur. In high-profile cases like Kennedy Shoal, officials must balance clear public safety messaging with the reality that Queensland’s waters remain heavily used for swimming, fishing and reef recreation.

For beachgoers and reef users, the lesson is practical rather than alarmist. Shark risk is low in absolute terms, but it is not abstract in northern Queensland, where offshore reefs, baitfish activity and human use of the water can intersect. The latest death will again place pressure on authorities to explain where the danger lies, what protections are in place and how quickly those protections can be adapted when conditions change.