Friend battles fear after fatal attack
The Albany teenager who fought off a white pointer shark that killed his mate while diving near Cheyne Beach in December says he does not know when he will feel safe diving back into the ocean.
Seventeen-year-old Matt Pullella was spearfishing with close friend Jay Muscat, 17, at Three Stripes when the large shark attacked.
Tragically Jay did not survive, but Matt shot his speargun into the shark's mouth and miraculously escaped unharmed.
Matt is still battling the mental scars and struggling to fight off the image of the shark burnt into his mind.
"I don't think I'm ready to go back," he said.
"I want to be confident enough to go back into the water and relax; I don't want to be worried.
"Even though it's really unlikely, I keep thinking it's going to happen again and I'm just waiting for it to happen."
Matt, who works as a commercial fisherman, had been diving most days for nearly three years up until the attack.
He described the ocean as "his life" and said he missed diving but was wary of entering the territory of the white pointer.
"(In the past) you'd look at a spot and think 'oh, that looks sharky' but you'd get in the water and forget about it," he said.
"Now it's real, it was always a thought, but now it's real."
Matt's father, Fred Pullella, said his son was one of many local teenagers who had been rocked by Jay's tragic death.
The close-knit group of friends and family celebrated Jay's 18th birthday this month, and have scattered his ashes at Cosy Corner.
When asked how he felt about Matt getting back into the water, Mr Pullella said he would leave the decision to his son.
"I've dived, and I'm aware of that environment and how dangerous it can be, but I also know how beautiful it can be and how rewarding it can be," he said.
"I really feel sorry for him and the whole group of guys that were involved; they've all stopped diving.
"Whether or not they go back into the water is entirely up to them - they have to deal with it."
Mr Pullella said the tragedy was unpreventable.
"I've said nobody could have stopped them diving, we may not have been comfortable with some of the places they were going, but we trusted them and they have to live their lives," he said.
Last week, Perth company Shark Shield gave Matt one of its shark deterrent devices in the hope it would alleviate some the his fears.
"We thought it would give him some peace of mind and help him with his recovery by doing the sport that he loves," executive chairman Lyndsay Lyon said.
