Great white sharks, the world’s largest predatory fish, eat three to four times more food than previously thought, an Australian study shows.

U.S. research from the 1980s estimated a 30-kilogram, or 66-pound meal of mammal blubber could sustain a one-ton shark for more than six weeks.

That perpetuated assumptions that large sharks could survive long periods without eating.

However, a University of Tasmania-led study published this week in Scientific Reports on the nature.com website found that 30 kilos was only enough for 12-15 days.

Researchers tagged a dozen great white sharks at Neptune Islands off South Australia and calculated their metabolic rate derived from swimming speeds.

They worked out how much energy the sharks burned and how much food they required.

Senior research scientist Jayson Semmens, lead author on the study, said the amount of energy required by great white sharks was equivalent to eating a seal pup every three days.

read more @ Discover

Mr King, 51, said he was thrown through the air by the impact of the attack as the shark took a large bite out of his board while surfing at Angourie, near Yamba. “I was lucky just to get a couple of grazes on my leg, “he said.

Mr King said he was about to stand up to catch a wave when he felt the shark brush against his leg before it took a mouthful of polyurethane and disappeared.

He suffered minor injuries but got back to the beach and called for help. He was taken to Maclean Hospital and given a tetanus injection.

Lifeguards closed the beach after the near miss, which happened about 6am. Local surfer Al Morrison said Mr King regularly surfed at the world-renowned point.

“We get the occasional shark sighting, but we’ve never had an attack before,” he said.

Read more at news.com.au

Forget about jumping the shark: A surfer said he surfed a shark on the Oregon coast Monday.

Doug Niblack said it happened at “the cove,” a popular surfing spot in Seaside. He was surfing Monday afternoon when a 10- to 12-foot shark hit his board and knocked him off, he said.

Niblack said he ended up standing on top of the shark, which he believes was a Great White. He said it lifted him out of the water above his knees for several seconds, then it took off.

“It pulled my leg about three feet, hooked on my leash, then it was gone,” said Niblack. “And that was the scariest part, when I didn’t know where it was anymore.”

He was not hurt.

story via katu.com