This was published 7 months ago
Australia had more fatal shark attacks than anywhere in the world last year. Here’s why
By Laura Chung
Australia was home to more shark-related deaths last year than anywhere else in the world, with isolated areas carrying a greater risk of fatalities, international research has found.
The data, published by the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File, found that surfers were slightly more prevalent in the data than people swimming or wading, experiencing 42 per cent of the 69 unprovoked bites around the world, 22 per cent of which were in Australia.
Tiger sharks are among the three sharks which are most likely to bite oceangoers.Credit: Australian Museum
Of the 10 fatal attacks globally in 2023, four occurred in Australia (three were in South Australia and one was in Western Australia). Australia’s deadliest shark year was 2020, when six people died.
The number of global deaths was double that of the previous year.
“This is within the range of the normal number of bites, though the fatalities are a bit unnerving last year,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research program.
There were 69 shark incidents last year, the majority of which were in the United States. Meanwhile, Australia took second place with 15 incidents last year – in line with the five-year annual average for the region.
If we break these statistics down further, seven of the incidents occurred in Western Australia, five bites occurred in South Australia, and Queensland, NSW and Tasmania recorded one bite each.
However, since the 1700s, the majority of shark incidents have occurred in NSW and Queensland due to the higher population density living along this stretch of coast.
Culum Brown, associate professor in biological sciences at Macquarie University, said swimming or surfing at beaches by yourself or far away from major towns or cities increased the chances of a shark bite.
He added that in the US, most beaches were swarming with people (many of which could render aid), but Australia’s coastline is so vast that it’s quite common to be the only person in the water.
“If sharks come up, and take an inquisitive bite or it’s a case of mistaken identity, you’ll bleed out really quickly unless you get help fast,” he said. “That’s why we say don’t surf or swim by yourself. If you get bitten by a shark and don’t get a tourniquet on, or unless there is a medic there, you’ll die almost immediately.”
He said it was not surprising that the number of incidents were increasing, as people spend more time in the water and everyone had access to a phone or drone for filming these interactions. He added this trend is likely to continue, with climate change increasing water temperatures.
Brown added that this will also change the distribution of sharks, drawing them further south along the coastline – in the case of the deadly tiger shark, or cause them to linger in Sydney’s Harbour year-round – in the case of the bull shark.
Shark attacks are extremely uncommon and fatalities are still rare, but the fact Sydneysiders share the city’s waters with the powerful marine predators has been thrown into sharp relief last week when a bull shark bit 29-year-old Lauren O’Neill on the leg.
So how likely are you to get bitten by a shark? Well, you’re more likely to get struck by lightning than encounter a shark, the Australian Museum says. Five to 10 deaths and over 100 serious injuries are estimated to be caused by lightning every year.
And mosquitoes – through transmitting diseases – kill more people in one day than sharks have killed over the past 100 years worldwide, according to the Global Shark Attack File.
If we stick with the animal theme for a minute, between 2001 and 2017, horses killed 172 people in Australia, cows killed 82 and dogs were involved in 53 deaths. In the same period, sharks were involved in only 27 deaths.
With AAP
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