GROPER ATTACKS YONGALA DIVER - Giant fish grabs tourist by the head.

> > By Joanna Mather.
> > 3 January 2002
> > Townsville Bulletin (c) 2002

A GIANT groper clamped its mouth around the head of a scuba diver at
theYongala wreck off Townsville, leaving him with cuts to his cheeks, neck
and shoulders.

Wildlife authorities consider the 2m fish may be a serious threat after it
again harassed divers yesterday, reportedly crushing one man's face-mask
when it lunged for his head underwater. Divers returning from the wreck
yesterday told how they were targeted by the monster, which repeatedly
"snuck up" behind them despite their attempts to kick it away.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service northern region director Clive Cook
said the attacks would be further investigated today. Environment
authorities would consult dive industry representatives over the fish's
fate.

Swedish backpacker Andre Ronnlund is said to have thought he was being
attacked by a shark. He was suddenly enveloped in darkness when the groper's
mouth slipped over his head. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority dive
interpreter and Townsville Bulletin dive columnist Troy Mayne was waiting
above on the dive vessel and administered first aid to Mr Ronnlund, who had
minor injuries and was treated at a Magnetic Island clinic. "He was unwarily
completing the obligatory safety stop before ascending to the surface," Mr
Mayne said. "Suddenly he felt a presence close by ... he felt the jaws of
the animal
around his neck as his whole head was engulfed." A short time later
Adrenalin Dive instructor Merv Ruggeri was preparing
to ascend when the groper eyeballed him from about a metre away. "He kept
coming closer and I had a feeling he was up to no good," Mr Ruggeri said.
Nonplussed, he returned to the wreck yesterday but says the attack on Mr
Ronnlund could have had a tragic outcome.

"It could have broken his neck or cut a vein," he said. Mr Ronnlund has left
town and could not be contacted yesterday. Mr Mayne said the fish might be
highly territorial, diseased or food might be scarcer than usual. After
enountering the aggressive groper, experienced diver Gavin Schiller said the
fish probably should be relocated. Fellow divers agreed, saying it was only
a matter of time before somebody got seriously hurt. "He was definitely
targeting us and seemed to want to get at our heads,"
Mr Schiller said. But opinion is mixed on whether groper should be
considered dangerous to humans.

A DPI website says Epinephelus lanceolatus or the Queensland groper are
curious but not dangerous and "will not attack unprovoked". However, they
had been known to mistake hands for food. Adrenalin Dive owner-manager Paul
Crocombe said a school of groper were permanent residents on the wreck.
Groper were considered by some to be gentle giants, although Torres Strait
Islanders considered them more dangerous than sharks. Mr Mayne believed this
was the first non-provoked attack by a Queensland groper.