'It's the shark's territory': Spear fisherman slammed over dramatic shark attack footage

The difference between self-defence and brutal hunting has again sparked debate after a spear fisherman left a charging bull shark for dead.

Kerry Daniel, 35, has been slammed on social media after he released body camera footage of him launching his spear gun down the throat of a charging bull shark near the Great Barrier Reef.

Sitting on the surface of the water, just off a north Queensland coastline, the professional spear fisherman was mere inches away from the razor sharp teeth of the bull shark before he jammed his spear gun into its mouth.

“He ripped the gun out of my hand, ripped the line off too. I didn't realise the gun was stuck in his mouth so I was waiting for him to spit it out but then thought it wasn't worth it and swum away,” Mr Daniel told the Daily Mail.

While few questioned the shark’s intentions, social media users condemned Mr Daniel for putting himself in that position, in the shark’s territory.

“What I saw was a spear fisherman attacking a shark,” one person commented.

“So don’t go swimming in shark infested waters, it’s the sharks territory not yours,” another wrote.

“100 Million sharks are killed per year by humans. Let that sink in. That's why we are rooting for the animal,” a woman named Liz said.

Mr Daniel, who has undertaken the same trip with mates annually for the past six years, insisted he had never encountered anything quite like this.

“We've had reef sharks come up to us before, they might take a fish off your line after you shoot it, but nothing like this,” he added.

He did find some allies in those that follow his spear fishing channel, Liquid Vision.

“The shark took a risk of attacking something unfamiliar and paid the ultimate price, now it's fish food. I don't see why some people are empathising over this fish that would happily bite your face off if it had the chance,” one person wrote.

“That was amazing! Great reactions by the diver,” another wrote.