The death of Steven Mattaboni, a 38-year-old surveyor and father of two young daughters, has drawn an outpouring of grief across Western Australia. His wife Shirene, a clinical nurse specialist, described him as a “devoted father” and “one-of-a-kind gentleman”, adding that her family’s “hearts are irrevocably broken”. The couple’s daughters are aged four months and almost three years.

The attack occurred shortly before 10 a.m. at Horseshoe Reef, roughly a kilometre off the island’s coast. Mr Mattaboni was spearfishing with three friends when he was bitten on both legs by a great white shark — variously estimated at between 13 and 16 feet. His companions pulled him from the water and raced him by boat to Geordie Bay, where paramedics worked for more than half an hour. Despite their efforts and the arrival of a rescue helicopter, he could not be revived.

Viewed from Perth, the incident has reignited longstanding debates about shark hazard management along a coastline already among the world’s most active for encounters. Rottnest Island, a beloved tourist destination 19 kilometres west of Fremantle, has witnessed fatal attacks before, though they remain statistically rare. Beyond Western Australia, analysts in Sydney note that the tragedy’s particular poignancy lies in its proximity to safety — the reef is less than half a mile from some of the island’s most popular swimming beaches — and in the fact that the victim was an experienced ocean user who lived and breathed the sea.

The emergency response was swift and well-coordinated, but the severity of the injuries proved unsurvivable. Looking ahead, the death is likely to intensify calls for enhanced shark surveillance — including drone and acoustic tagging deployments — and for broader uptake of personal deterrent devices among spearfishermen and divers. Yet as his wife’s tribute underscored, for those who knew Steven Mattaboni he was not merely a statistic but a man defined by his loyalty, generosity, and devotion to the ocean. No policy change can fully address the loss of a life so deeply intertwined with the water that took it.