Worldwide, there are about 400 species of sharks. Of these, around 180 species occur in Australian waters, of which about 70 are thought to be endemic. Sharks occur in all habitats around the Australian coast line, however most are found on the continental slope or shelf, primarily on the bottom. However, many sharks are also found in coastal waters and a small number are even found in freshwater systems, such as rivers and estuaries....
Several species of shark are known to be dangerous to humans: the white shark, tiger shark, bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) and other whaler sharks (Carcharhinus sp.). No shark is thought to target humans as prey, rather the majority of shark attacks can be attributed to the shark confusing us with its normal prey.
[Australian Dept. of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water]
Five shark species found in Australia are now considered either Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered, due to declining numbers - the Grey Nurse, Whale, White, Northern River and Speartooth sharks. These sharks are protected species under the C'wealth EPBC Act, along with the migratory shark species - the long and short fin Mako shark and the Porbeagle shark which are specifically prohibited from being fished commercially in Australian waters.
As the sad news of a surfer taken by what is thought to be a white shark, while riding the big waves on a remote part of the Australian coastline is filling print and online media column inches at the moment, like night follows day there will be some discussion of shark numbers, the safety or otherwise of ocean waters and possible methods of reducing those numbers.
So here is some basic information. Taken from the Australian Shark-Incident Database (ASID) - which contains collected and collated historical & current records of human and shark encounters - and read alongside Australia's population growth over the last 223 years for additional context.
Australia's resident population in the 108 years between between 1791 and 1899 rose from an estimate in excess of 303,194 to 950,000 individuals to an estimated 4 million by 1899. The exact numbers are unknown as, although colonial authorities kept muster books for convicts, guards and free persons, First Nations peoples were rarely recorded accurately if or when they were recorded at all for the next 180 years.
In that first listed 108 year period there were 123 recorded adverse human encounters with sharks in Australian waters - 44 of these encounters resulted in the death of a person and 79 resulted in no injury or an injury, usually described as minor or major lacerations sometimes accompanied by teeth marks.
The majority of the these 123 adverse human encounters with sharks are recorded as involving unprovoked shark attacks, however a total of 23 of these attacks are recorded as provoked by the human victim and frequently described as "enticing the shark" or "intentionally" coming into close physical contact with the shark.
Bottom line: 0.0011% of the then total national population died by shark attack.
Between 1900 and 1999 the Australian population grew by millions to reach est. 18.81 million men, women and children.
During this period there were 609 recorded adverse human and shark encounters - 159 of these encounters resulted in the death of a person and 450 resulted in no injury or an injury, usually described as minor or major lacerations sometimes accompanied by teeth marks.
Again the majority of the 609 adverse human encounters with sharks are recorded as involving unprovoked shark attacks, however over 200 of these attacks are recorded as provoked by the human victim and frequently described as either "enticing the shark", "intentionally" coming into close physical contact with the shark, in "physical contact" or during "capture of the shark".
Bottom line: 0.0008% of the then total national population died by shark attack.
Over the next 25 years between 2000 and 2024 the Australian population had reached 27,204,809 men, women and children - and with est. 85 per cent of this population living in coastal regions, whether strong swimmers, weak swimmers or non-swimmers, 50 per cent will frequent ocean, coastal river or estuary waters and enter the water a combined total of up to 11.7 million times in a year [Surf Lifesaving Australia, National Coastal Safety Report 2024].
During this 25 year period there were 501 recorded adverse human and shark encounters - 52 of these encounters resulted in the death of a person and 449 resulted in no injury or an injury, usually described as minor or major lacerations sometimes accompanied by teeth marks.
Again the majority of the 501 adverse human encounters with sharks are recorded as involving unprovoked shark attacks, however over 100 of these attacks are recorded as provoked by the human victim and frequently described as either "enticing the shark", "intentionally" coming into close physical contact with the shark, in "physical contact" or in the case of one unlucky board rider "jumped on shark" by mistake and was bitten. There appears to be some connection between provoked shark attacks and the recreational activities of fishing, diving, scuba diving and spear fishing.
Bottom line: 0.0001% of the current total national population died by shark attack.
BACKGROUND
The Australian Shark-Incident Database (ASID), formerly known as the Australian Shark Attack File (ASAF), quantifies temporal and spatial patterns of shark-human interactions in Australia.
The Australian Shark-Incident Database is a joint partnership with Taronga Conservation Society Australia, along with Flinders University, and the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries.
Maintained as an uninterrupted record by a few committed Taronga team members since 1984, the File currently comprises > 1000 individual investigations from 1791 to today, making it the most comprehensive database of its kind available.
