Article: Ash Boller: Spearfishing Close Calls and the Real Story Behind More Sydney Sharks
Everything Ocean Podcast
Ash Boller: Spearfishing Close Calls and the Real Story Behind More Sydney Sharks
Episode 9: spearo and Extreme Spear Fishing owner Ash Boller on a tiger shark above and an oceanic whitetip below in the Coral Sea, why surfers mostly rely on luck, and his theory on why we're seeing more sharks off Sydney's northern beaches.
Everything Ocean Podcast — Episode 9, with spearo and Extreme Spear Fishing owner Ash Boller.
Content note: Ash talks about the shark attack on his friend Andre at Manly. We kept the details out of it, out of respect for Andre.
180 nautical miles out in the Coral Sea, Ash Boller was watching a maxed-out tiger shark spiral up towards him. Then he got a funny feeling and looked down.
A seven or eight foot oceanic whitetip had come up from behind him, through his legs. No spear gun in his hand.
Ash owns Extreme Spear Fishing in Brookvale and has spent years in the water around Sydney. He’s also got a theory on why we’re seeing more sharks off the northern beaches, and it’s not the one you’d expect.
Listen or watch: YouTube · Spotify · search "Everything Ocean Podcast" on Apple Podcasts.
In this episode
- 21:01 — Out in the Coral Sea. A tiger shark above, an oceanic whitetip below.
- 26:57 — Bravado vs luck. Why a spearo has some control in the water, and a surfer mostly doesn’t.
- 30:17 — Checking in on Andre. Ash on his mate’s recovery since the Manly attack.
- 35:01 — Is it climate change? Ash’s take, and why he reckons it doesn’t quite stack up.
- 41:09 — Bait everywhere. Fish, seals and a slow snapper comeback.
- 56:10 — Inside the smart drumlines. How the tag-and-release program actually works.
- 1:06:19 — How sharks ‘see’ you. The sense the Shark Shield is built to exploit.
From a 64kg dogtooth to a Brookvale dive shop
Ash’s spearfishing story starts with a 64kg dogtooth tuna, the catch that helped set him on the path to opening his own dive and spearfishing shop.
Years in the water around Sydney and the Coral Sea have given him more shark encounters than most of us could stomach, including regular bull and tiger shark sightings off the northern beaches.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had more adrenaline hit. I think I just Superman’d it into the boat.”
Ash Boller
Ash, on fear in the water
Bravado vs luck
“As a surfer, all you’ve kind of got is luck.”
His point: a spearo has an element of control underwater. A surfer mostly doesn’t.
Why are there more sharks off Sydney?
Ash doesn’t think climate change quite stacks up as the explanation. What he’s seeing instead is bait everywhere: fish, seals and a slow snapper comeback. That’s why he reckons more sharks off Sydney might actually be a good sign.
He also breaks down how drones, smart drumlines, Shark Eyes and the Shark Shield actually work, and where each one falls short.
Heads up: Ash’s views on climate change, and the fishing figures he quotes, are his own take from years in the water, not settled science. Worth hearing alongside Rob Harcourt’s 40 years of tracking data in shark series part 4.
Listen to the full episode
More from the shark series: Shark Eyes with Shanan Worrall · Inside NSW’s $120 million shark drone program.
Catch every episode under the Podcast filter in From the Lineup.
