Shark attack victim's wife told 'nothing you could have done'

The grieving widow of a diver killed by a great white shark in Western Australia has been told there was nothing she could have done to save him.

Gary Johnson and his wife Kate Milligan were diving by Devils Rocks near Esperance when the 57-year-old was attacked by a great white shark.

Ms Milligan desperately tried to haul her husband into their boat, but ultimately let go and he sank beneath the waves.

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The State Coroner reassured her that the "sudden, fatal attack" had put Mr Johnson beyond her help.

"From the moment of the attack, there was nothing that you could have done," Coroner Sarah Linton said.

Ms Milligan had earlier said Mr Johnson was at home in the ocean and they would go diving most weekends.

"We were always aware of the risks and often told each other that if we were attacked by a shark that would just be unlucky," she said.

"We were completely against shark culling and I still am.

"We believed that if fish stocks were better protected then the risk to people in the water would be reduced."

Ms Milligan also described her husband as her rock, adding he was a gentle and strong man.

Only Mr Johnson's tank, vest and flippers have been found.

Following the coroner's report at the inquest, Mr Johnson will no longer be considered a missing person.

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Since his death, the government has installed three shark warning towers in the area.