A great white shark injured a diver in Percé, Que., in Quebec’s Gaspé region, prompting the diver to be taken to the hospital. The Canadian Coast Guard reported that the incident occurred just before 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Plongée Percé, a commercial diving company, swiftly initiated emergency response procedures and provided initial first aid to the individual before transferring them to the hospital for further assessment. Fortunately, the diver’s life was not in jeopardy.
The victim was aboard the Yoda vessel, a Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary dive boat, as confirmed by the Canadian Coast Guard. However, the nature of the diver’s injuries was yet to be confirmed as of Wednesday afternoon. Kevin Dubé, a boat captain who witnessed the event, mentioned that a mayday call alerted them to the diver’s situation. The injured individual was swiftly brought ashore in a dinghy, where waiting ambulances quickly transported them to the hospital for treatment.
Expressing gratitude on Facebook, Plongée Percé acknowledged the assistance in the rescue operation and announced the suspension of diving activities for the season. The summer saw an increase in great white shark sightings in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and along the coasts of the Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands. Ocearch, a global non-profit organization, is monitoring four sharks – Webster, Ernst, Bella, and Nori – with Nori sighted south of Anticosti Island and Ernst and Bella spotted northeast of the Magdalen Islands.
Ocearch founder Chris Fischer noted the positive impact of having great white sharks in the region, particularly on local fisheries, as they help regulate seal populations and preserve fish stocks. Caroline Miri, a marine biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, emphasized the crucial role sharks play in maintaining marine ecosystems by controlling invasive species and competing fish populations.
Increased sightings of great white sharks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence were attributed to enhanced documentation and the species’ recovery from endangered status in Canadian waters, according to the St. Lawrence Shark Observatory. The presence of large grey seal populations attracts great white sharks to the region, making them regular seasonal visitors. Sandra Gauthier, director of the Exploramer science museum, emphasized the need to coexist with sharks in their habitat, highlighting the rarity of shark-related incidents in Canada.
