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The British expat who was the victim of a shark attack in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday had previously voiced his objection to protective nets placed around beaches.
The nets are designed to keep sharks away and are placed around beaches in the water.
Although they are not completely effective, they help to reduce the number of sharks that enter the area they protect.
The attack on 35-year-old Simon Nellist was Sydney’s first fatal shark attack in nearly 60 years.
Hi injuries were described as “catastrophic” by New South Wales state Ambulance Inspector Lucky Phrachnanh.
Eyewitnesses believed the shark was about 4.5 metres long, which is around 15 feet.
It is believed 35-year-old Simon Nellist, who has not yet been formally identified by police, was training for a forthcoming charity swim when he was fatally attacked in front of horrified onlookers in Sydney’s Little Bay on Wednesday afternoon.
Friends described Mr Nellist, an experienced diving instructor who was engaged to be married, as someone who “loved the water”.
A search is continuing for the rest of his remains and the white shark believed to be responsible, which left the victim with what medics described as “catastrophic injuries”.
Della Ross, a friend of Mr Nellist, told broadcaster 7News: “Everything that is connected to Simon, to me is connected to the ocean.
“The news hit us like a truck because he is really one of the people that makes this Earth better.”
A neighbour living in the Wolli Creek area of Sydney described Mr Nellist as “such a nice guy”.
Emergency services were called to Little Bay at around 4.35pm local time on Wednesday after reports that a swimmer had been attacked by a shark.
Witness Kris Linto said the shark “came and attacked him (the victim) vertically”.
He told Nine News TV: “We heard a yell and then turned around. It looked like a car just landed in the water – big splash.”
Lucky Phrachnanh, from New South Wales state ambulance, said the victim “suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of the attack”, adding there was nothing paramedics could do when they arrived at the scene.
The incident, believed to be the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963, prompted the immediate closure of more than a dozen beaches in the area until Friday.