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Shark Attack Survivor Rodney Fox Turns Near-Death Into Ongoing Conservation Mission

A near-fatal 1963 encounter redirected his life toward shark conservation.

Overview

  • At age 23, Fox was mauled by a great white during the South Australia Spearfishing Championship at Aldinga Beach, suffering major wounds to his chest, stomach and leg.
  • A fellow diver pulled him from the water, and he survived after urgent hospitalization and a lengthy recovery.
  • He later created a sea-floor shark cage experience through Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions and founded the Fox Shark Research Foundation in 2001.
  • Fox and his son Andrew still run the expeditions and remain active in research and public outreach.
  • He consulted on the film Jaws, built a notable shark memorabilia collection, and urges people to view great whites as vital, rarely confrontational animals.