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• Australian Shark Attack File

  • General Information
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  • 2008
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Sharks occur in all the coastal waters and estuarine habitats around the 35,000 km of Australia's coast. As the population of the country increases (1900 = 3,765,300; 1950 = 8,307,500; 1990 = 17,046,700; 2008 = 22 million) many more people are entering coastal waters for recreational and commercial reasons throughout the year.

Although Australia continues to have a bad reputation concerning the threat of shark attacks to swimmers, the statistics do not support these claims. In the last 50 years, there have been only 53 human fatalities (1.06 per year) in Australian waters from shark attack. Some years there are no fatalities recorded, 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.

The Australian Shark Attack File is coordinated at Taronga Zoo and is associated with the International Shark Attack File (managed by the American Elasmobranch Society).

The Aims And Objectives Of The Shark Attack File:

1. To chronicle all known information on shark attacks from Australian waters past, present and future. 
2. To provide source material for scientific study to identify the common factors relating to the causes of attacks on humans.
3. To provide summary information for public education and awareness and/or publication by the media.
4. To publish information resulting from analysis of the acquired data.

Criteria For Inclusion:

Any human/shark interaction:

• Where there is a determined attempt by a shark (not captured or in captivity) to attack a person;
• Where injury occurs during an attempt by the shark to attack a person;
• Where imminent contact was averted by diversionary action by the victim or others (and no injury to the human occurs);
• Where the person is alive and in the water at the time of the attack;
• Where the equipment worn or held by the person is bitten or damaged by the shark during the attack, and;
• Where the shark attacks a small water craft able to be operated by a single person eg kayak, surfboard, surf ski or canoe.