Woman who 'tried to grab' a shark for a selfie slapped with $8380 fine

A tourist who was filmed wrestling with a shark pup she reportedly tried to grab for a selfie while visiting an archipelago off the Brazilian coast has been fined R$20,000 (A$8380).

Video of the woman’s frantic attempts to free herself after the shark bit her hand was shared online yesterday.

The attack was said to have been filmed on the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, 354km off the Brazilian coast.

“The place is considered an animal sanctuary with all its nature protected and strictly watched over,” Reddit user Prais3th3Sun, who shared the video, explained.

“All that she (the tourist) earned were four stitches in her right hand and a big fine from the authorities for the environmental crime.”

Prais3th3Sun claims the total fine came to R$20,000 (A$8380).

Many users criticised the woman’s apparent failure to apply common sense.

“Seems we've become so removed from nature and it's primal harshness, that grabbing casually grabbing a shark for a selfie seems like a good idea,” one user wrote.

READ MORE: Shark dies after being dragged out of the ocean for 'selfie'