Pictured: The giant school of fish that attracted the attention of a pack of hungry sharks... terrifying a lone surfer



The warnings are usually clear - if you see a large school of fish get out of the water, because sharks won't be far away.

However, this surfer ignored that advice and not only took his board out from a beach near the New South Wales city of Wollongong, but surfed right over the top of a massive school of fish.



'This crazy fellow turned himself into potential shark bait,' said a surf rescue official who studied this amazing photograph.



The surfer sits on his board watching the school of fish, seemingly oblivious to the predators who are waiting nearby

'The rules are dead simple and every surfer knows them. Don't go out there when there are bait fish around because there will be plenty of sharks in the area who are ready to eat more than just the fish.'

The surfer was photographed off Stanwell Park beach, north of Wollongong, by the official Australian Aerial Patrol which has taken to the skies this week to look for sharks and warn surfers from the water.

Sharks begin a feeding frenzy when large schools of fish swim near the Australian coastline.

Rescuers have been on high alert around the Australian coast following the savage death last weekend of 51-year-old Brian Guest, who was grabbed by a great white shark as he was snorkelling just 100ft off the West Australian coast with his son.

The surfer is nowhere to be seen as hungry sharks move in and get ready to divide the school

Since then there have been a number of shark 'alarms', not only off Western Australia but along the New South Wales and Queensland coasts on the eastern side of the country.

At Windang Beach, close to where the latest surfer was photographed, swimmers were ordered from the water by lifeguards the day before after a hammerhead shark was spotted 30ft from the sands.

It was one of three shark sightings near Wollongong, prompting authorities to warn swimmers: 'Don't swim or surf in murky water, particularly near estuarine areas, and get out of the water if you are anywhere near a school of fish.'

The sharks continue to divide the school as they indulge in a feeding frenzy

Harry Mitchell, an aerial patrol official, said that many popular beaches up and down the coastline around Wollongong were inhabited by the predators 'and the only thing that is different for the sharks after millions of years is the introduction of the human factor.'

In Queensland, beachgoers swimming off the Brisbane coast were ordered from the water by lifeguards after a pack of bull sharks were spotted in waist- deep water.



Meanwhile the Wollongong surfer who rode along with a school of shark- bait fish managed to make it to shore with his arms and legs intact.



But officials warned he might not be so lucky the next time.



The sharks swell in numbers as they go after their kill



















