Mick Fanning revealed he has been surfing with sharks again as he joined the world's elite for the seventh round of the 2015 World Surf League (WSL) in Tahiti.

The three-times world champion from Australia, who won the event here in 2012, is competing again for the first time since a lucky escape from a shark attack in the final of the J-Bay Open on 19 July, in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa.

Fanning said: "I am really excited to get back in the water and just get going again, put the suit back on and make that the focus rather than an incident that happened a few weeks ago."

The 34-year-old experienced surfer said it was time to put the incident when he was knocked off his board by a shark but managed to swim to safety behind him. Speaking on Thursday (13 August), he said he spotted a fin the first time he got back into the water again after the dramatic escape.

"I just saw a fin just come up and go through the wave. I was just like: 'Are you for real, what is going on here?' But it was all good, I caught another wave and then went in and then yeah, from then on I started surfing a little bit more," Fanning added.

Adriano de Souza leads the world circuit, 250 points ahead of Fanning. The 28 year-old will start defending his position at the top of the ranking against fellow Brazilian wildcard Bruno Santos and Tahitian Michel Bourez.

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