Geelong abalone diver’s arm sliced apart by boat propeller off Port Campbell

An experienced abalone fisherman fears he may never dive again after his bicep was torn in half by a boat propeller.

Toby Hoskin’s right hand was drawn into the running propeller as he surfaced with his catch off Port Campbell in Victoria on the morning of May 4.

“I thought a shark grabbed me,” Hoskin, 50, told 7NEWS.com.au.

“I just popped to the surface. I only realised what had happened when I was up against the boat.”

Hoskin, a Geelong father of five, said his right arm was drawn in up to his shoulder, causing the motor to stall.

“I laid back to push away and get out of it,” he said.

“I can’t remember how I got back onto the boat.”

He was in a “massive amount of pain” as he was rushed to hospital in Warrnambool and later transferred to Geelong.

Hoskin said his bicep was “torn in half” and he suffered major nerve damage, cuts and bruising.

He currently has little movement or feeling in his right hand, and has an anxious wait to learn from doctors whether that will return.

One surgery to “sew the bicep back together” and clean up the damage has been completed, and his arm is currently in a cast.

He is likely to have at least two more procedures.

‘My biggest hurdle’

Hoskin has been abalone diving for 30 years, following his father into the industry.

“I just wanted to be like my dad — I loved doing it, he said.

“I’ve seen a lot in my time, had decompression sickness, but this will be my biggest hurdle to get over.

“Whether I can hold my tools under water, I still don’t know.

“It’s really hard to hear that you may never have proper movement in that hand again.”

Hoskin said he was not covered by insurance and faces an uncertain future supporting himself and his family.

His friend and fellow diver Greg Staples has launched an online fundraiser to help him keep afloat until he is back on his feet.