Australia's Shark Horror - fin or fiction?

Posted By Sara-Lise Haith on 30 December 2008

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On Sunday 28^th December a snorkeller believed to be have taken by a Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), off the coast of Perth, was missing within minutes.  According to the Guardian newspaper (UK), 51 year old Brian Guest was apparently attacked 30 metres from shore while snorkelling.  Witnesses say they saw a dorsal fin and a large shark roll over the Mr. Guest, taking him under.  

The victim's son and survivor Daniel Guest found only the shreds of his wetsuit later on, and aerial searchers spotted a 5 metre Great White shark swimming in the area later on.  It is not established whether the Great White shark spotted was directly responsible for the attack, as it could have been attracted to the blood of the victim after the initial attack.

Great white sharks are prolific in the waters of western and southern Australia around Perth, Adelaide and Sydney, where cooler, temperate waters prevail.

Since the tragic loss of Mr. Guest, sightings of sharks all around Australia's coasts seem to be on the rise, from Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, and Queensland, where residents have recorded video footage of kayakers being nudged by a Great White shark, and other boaters being "eyeballed" and swarmed by sharks.  Questions arise as to whether people are becoming paranoid due to the alarming headlines produced by national newspapers.  Words such as "shark horror", "panic", "a huge marauding shark", and "fisherman terrified" may be sparking unnecessary fear into the thousands of swimmers who enjoy the Australian beaches summer after summer.  There are more eye catching articles which would appease the eye of the gore seeker where a man tells the tale of how his head was almost swallowed by a Great White Shark, and more recently today, how a British couple had a "Jaws" encounter with a Great White shark.  Schools of broad nosed sharks, thought to be bull sharks, were seen swimming close to North Stradbroke Island (Queensland) on Sunday.

Press reports say that the late Mr. Brian Guest wrote on the Western Angler website forum in 2004: "I have always had an understanding with my wife that if a shark or ocean accident caused my death then so be it, at least it was doing what I wanted. Every surfer, fisherman and diver has far more chance of being killed by bees, drunk drivers, teenage car thieves and lightning. Every death is a tragedy - regardless of the cause - but we have no greater claim to use of this earth than any of the other creatures [we] share it with."  These words show a great understanding and respect for the ocean world by Mr. Guest and his peers at the Western Angler forum show a respect for Mr. Guest in return.

Swimming in the ocean amongst wildlife is a risk that swimmers, divers, and spearfisherman should be aware of.  Walking in a game reserve amongst wild animals poses the same amount of risk, and those risks are clearly published.  To view some of the risks involved in entering the ocean on your own terms readers may want to view this website, http://swimatyourownrisk.com/.  It is written with a little tongue-in-cheek but does publish articles from world press concerning sharks and other sea life that have aroused attention.

 Sara-Lise Haith with a Leopard Shark - photo by KG Hjalmarsson

Facts

The Australian Shark Attack File  states that sharks occur in all the coastal waters and estuarine habitats around the 27,000 km of Australia's coast.  The website quotes:

Although Australia continues to have a bad reputation concerning the threat of shark attacks to swimmers, the statistics do not support these contentions. In the last 50 years, there have been only 60 human fatalities (1.2 per year) in Australian waters from shark attack. Some years there are none, other years there have been up to three in a year, but the average remains around one per year. Yet each year 100,000s of swimmer-days take place on our beaches, harbours and rivers and the number is increasing with both increasing population and tourism."

Furthermore, the website has tabled the following statistics, which are the compilation of reported shark/human interactions over a 200 year period.

Note: Last fatal attack in Sydney Harbour - Marcia Hathaway (1963).

As of January 2007 for all Australian States combined:

In the last 20 years, there have been 25 recorded fatalities due to shark attack = averages 1.25 per year. (SA = 9, QLD = 8, WA = 6, NSW = 1, TAS = 1, VIC = 0, NT = 0).

In the last 50 years, there have been 56 recorded fatalities due to shark attack = averages 1.12 per year. (QLD = 22, SA = 16, WA = 7, NSW = 5, TAS = 4, VIC = 2,  NT = 0).

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