A Northland man attacked by a shark at the weekend says he managed to escape by stabbing the animal.
During the horrifying ordeal he still managed to cling on to the large kingfish he'd just caught.
Bite marks cut into Kevin Lloyd's wetsuit where the vicious shark attacked. Mr Lloyd describes the terrifying moment.
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"Just out of nowhere this mako shark about two metres in size came straight in and attacked my fins," Mr Lloyd recounts.
"It then spun around and went full noise straight into my right calf."
Just moments before, his spearfishing buddy had passed him a knife to deal to a 20kg kingfish he'd caught.
"It came right up into my face, pretty much - and I was holding it back with my left hand and had the knife in my right," he says.
"I was fiercely stabbing it as fast as I could, and the shark turned its head as I went to go for its eye. It just managed to get a hold of my hand and just started ripping away at it."
While all this was happening, Mr Lloyd's friend was holding on to the shark's tail, and may have saved his life.
"It couldn't really get any power out of its bite on my leg, so I got out quite lucky and I definitely don't think I could've taken that thing on by myself."
The injured animal did eventually swim off. Mr Lloyd was treated in hospital for wounds to his hand and leg.
It's the second attack in the past few months in Northland. A surfer had to have shark tooth fragments removed from his body and board after he was attacked by a great white near Dargaville in October.
Earlier this month, a spear fisher managed to escape unharmed after a bronze whaler latched onto his leg at Omaha north of Auckland.
Mr Lloyd spent a recovery day smoking the kingfish he speared moments before he was attacked. Unbelievably, he held onto it as he swam back to the boat.
"Cause at least get something out of it aye"
Mr Lloyd says he feels bad about the shark but says he had no choice.
It hasn't put him off spearfishing. He says he'll be back in the water once his wounds heal.
Newshub.
