Shark attacks in Australia
[4] White sharks were responsible for 15 fatalities, seven of which occurred while the person was at the surface of the water partaking in surfing, swimming, or sailboarding.
Tiger sharks are historically responsible for the second most attacks on humans on record, mostly due to the fact that they often hunt in shallow waters and are easy provoked.
In addition to this, evidence has shown that some sharks, including species that the nets are not meant to trap, have gotten captured while attempting to feed on already entangled animals.
[9] The Australian Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts states precautions which can be taken to reduce the risk of shark attacks.
A. Bradshaw, Phoebe Meagher, Madeline J. Thiele, Robert G. Harcourt, and Charlie Huveneers dives into how many people in Australia might be able to avoid shark bites if they use personal electronic deterrent devices.
The New South Wales Government allocated AU$16 million to reduce shark bites which was partly due to offset tourism financial losses.
On Réunion Island, a ban on surfing was implemented after numerous fatal shark attacks, creating an estimated economic losses of hundreds of millions annually.
A. Bradshaw, Sasha Whitmarsh, Madeline J. Thiele, Lauren Meyer, Andrew Fox, and Charlie Huveneers dives into five commercially available shark attack deterrents for surfers and their effectiveness.
[13] The study assessed the effectiveness of these five personal shark-bite deterrents designed for surfers, revealing varying levels of success.
The study emphasized that while some deterrents reduce risk, none of them eliminate attacks entirely, noting the importance of proper testing before commercial use.
[13] It is important to note how complex the functionality is of these technologies and how these findings provide valuable insights to help evaluate and choose the most effective shark deterrents.
[14] It is important to lift the person to avoid dragging the injuries through the sand and place them on a clean, dry surface such as a beach towel.
Australia's shark population works to prevent overgrazing of marine vegetation like seagrass by their prey, which makes the ecosystems resilient to environmental changes.
Without these carnivorous shark species, Australia would face an utter decimation of seagrass beds which are highly instrumental in ocean health.
The data base is managed through Taronga's ELO Java Client content-management system and is only abled to be edited by a select team of people.
The data collected uses approximately 100 descriptor fields to help provide a detailed summary of the incident, which includes the geographical location, weather conditions, recovery status of the victims, the shark species involved, and the time of attack.
