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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.
Worldwide estimates state that 30 to 100 people a year are attacked. Analysis of over 1,000 case histories world wide, from the International Shark Attack File suggests an average of 30% are fatal.
Australian figures show 25% have been fatal.
Earliest Australian recorded attack was in 1791, an indigenous female on the North Coast of NSW (fatal).
The following statistics are the compilation of reported shark/human interactions for over 218 years and are a combination of 'provoked' & 'unprovoked' cases.
State Total cases Fatal Injured Uninjured Last Fatality
NSW 277 70 148 59 2008 Ballina, Lighthouse Beach
QLD 245 72 150 23 2006 North Stradbroke Island
WA 100 16 63 21 2010 Cowaramup Bay
SA 52 18 27 7 2005 Glenelg Beach
VIC 50 9 26 15 1977 Mornington Peninsula
TAS 21 5 9 7 1993 Tenth Is, Georgetown
NT 10 2 5 3 1938 Bathurst Island
Total 755 192 428 135 (as of 18/8/2010)
As of June 2009 for all Australian States combined:
In the last 20 years, there have been 24 recorded fatalities due to shark attack = averages 1.2 per year. In the last 50 years, there have been 52 recorded fatalities due to shark attack = averages 1.04 per year.
Shark Attacks In Perspective:
There is an element of risk in any activity we undertake. To put the risk of being killed by a shark attack into perspective the following statistics illustrate the number of deaths associated with water related activities in Australia.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Total Accidental Drowning & Submersion Surfboard Riding Rock Fishing Skin Diving Drowned while swimming at an ocean beach, a river, lake, & SCUBA harbour, estuary, bay, or lagoon.
1994 419 of which 3 14 27 79 were FATAL
1995 441 of which 2 13 14 68 were FATAL
There were no recorded fatalities from shark attack in Australia in 1994 and 1 in 1995.
Compared to fatalities from any other forms of water related activity the number of fatal shark attacks, from all reported shark encounters in Australia, is extremely low.
During the period 1969-2000, in NSW alone, 218 rock fishermen were swept off the rocks and drowned. In that same period 40 shark encounters were recorded with only 2 fatality reported. On average there are 80 drowning deaths each year (ref Beachsafe Newsletter, Issue 16, 2009).
Diving related deaths in Australia 1945 - 1987 = 292 (quote from Diving Accident Management in Australia, 1988). "Eleven Australians were killed by lightning in the years 1983 to 1986", (John Sedgwick, Lightning Natures Terrible Swift Sword, Readers Digest, January 1990).
On average there are 2-3 deaths per year from Bee stings in Australia (Dr van Nunen Royal North Shore Hospital Allergy Unit. Feb 3rd 1989. Manly Daily). Three people died from bee stings in 1995 (Aust. Bureau of Statistics). On average, there is around one person per year killed by shark attack in Australia over the last 218 years.
Any use of this information in any publication must be authorised by Taronga Zoo Public Relations Dept and contain appropriate accreditation to Taronga Zoo and the Australian Shark Attack File. Note: This document is regularly updated and revised, therefore numbers of recorded attacks and their outcomes are subject to change reflecting the new information available.
Contact Phone +61 2 9969 2777
As part of a world wide study into shark behaviour, data from the ASA Files helps to identify the existence, or absence, of common factors relating to the cause of attacks on humans.
The research project is conducted in 3 stages:
1.Compile information on each recorded attack in Australian waters.
2.Assimilate, categorise and transcribe data to computer.
3.Analyse acquired data and publish results.
More Research Needed:
This project is aimed at understanding and documenting the behaviours of sharks when they interact with humans.
This information will contribute to conservation of the species and their environment through education and specific research projects. There is a need to learn more about the shark's normal behaviour as well as in circumstances of human interaction.
Emotional statements and media hype designed to sensationalise sharks and shark attacks tend to create public paranoia and do little to inform the public of the truth about shark behaviour. We must turn fear into respect for these much maligned animals.
Common Misconception :
1.All sharks are dangerous !
2.Sharks only attack when hungry !
3.There are a lot of deaths from shark attack !
4.Sharks lurk off the beaches only to attack, kill and maim humans !
Attack Theories:
There are over 482 species of shark world wide and 182 species occur in Australian waters but only a handful are known to be dangerous to humans. There are several theories as to why sharks attack humans. Some ‘attacks' may be purely an inquisitive testing of an object, some may be territorial, others may be related to the invasion of the shark's personal space by the human. Other theories include in-quisitiveness (i.e. just testing an object with their teeth to see if it is edible), or the shark may have been disrupted during its breeding behaviour. Some attacks may be directly associated with feeding behaviours. Some authors have suggested that only rogue sharks or injured sharks attack humans, however, there is no scientific evidence to support this theory.
Attacks On People:
The collective term "ATTACK" refers to all encounters recorded on the ASAF. The term includes provoked and unprovoked encounters with humans. The types of sharks implicated in the majority of attacks on humans in Australian waters include Tiger Sharks, White Sharks and Whalers (including the Bull Shark) which are capable of inflicting much more damage than they do. The majority of people are bitten and released, which may indicate the shark is not biting to procure food in the majority of cases.
Prevention Of Shark Attacks:
Shark attacks remain a genuine but unlikely danger for humans entering the water.
However, this does not mean that people should disregard the likelihood of an attack by swimming outside the protection of Life Saver patrolled beaches or protected swimming areas. People must use common sense as to where they swim and what they do in the water. There is a much higher risk of drowning than from being killed by an encounter with a shark. As more knowledge is acquired about the shark's normal behaviours and about the circumstances surrounding attacks, it may be possi-ble to develop an effective repellent (some electric impulse devices are currently being developed and tested).
The best prevention is common sense related to where you swim and what activities you undertake whilst in the water and awareness of what may invite or provoke an attack. The following points highlight some considerations to help minimise the risk.
1.Swim at beaches that are patrolled by Surf Life Savers.
2.Do not swim, dive or surf where dangerous sharks are known to congregate.
3.Always swim, dive or surf with other people.
4.Do not swim in dirty or turbid water.
5.Avoid swimming well offshore, near deep channels, at river mouths or along drop-offs to deeper water.
6.If schooling fish start to behave erratically or congregate in large numbers, leave the water.
7.Do not swim with pets and domestic animals.
8.Look carefully before jumping into the water from a boat or wharf.
9.Do not swim a dusk or at night.
10.Do not swim near people fishing or spear fishing.
11.If a shark is sighted in the area leave the water as quickly and calmly as possible.
If You See A Shark:
Stay calm! It must be remembered that some stated methods of repelling sharks could, given different conditions and different sized animals, result in an altering of the shark's initial response and may unintentionally provoke an attack response in the very animal that it was meant to deter. Leave the area as quickly and as quietly as possible. However, if an attack is imminent try to keep the shark in sight and if it gets too close then any action you take may disrupt the attack pattern, such as hitting the shark's nose, gouging at its eyes, making sudden body movements, blowing bubbles, etc.
If Someone Is Bitten By A Shark:
First aid:- once the patient is removed from the water:
1.Treat the patient immediately on site.
2.Stop the bleeding immediately by applying direct pressure above or on the wound, a tourniquet may be used if bleeding cannot be controlled by a pressure bandage.
3.Reassure the patient at all times.
4.Send for an ambulance and medical personnel (if possible do not move the patient if badly injured.
5.Cover the patient lightly with clothing or a towel.
6.Give nothing by mouth.
Known Dangerous Sharks:
The following animals have been identified in fatal unprovoked shark attacks on humans in Australia:
White Pointer Carcharodon carcharias.
Tiger Shark Galeocerdo cuvier.
Whaler Sharks Carcharhinus sp. (several species occur in Australia with one known as the Bull Shark).
Potentially Dangerous Sharks:
The following sharks are considered potentially dangerous because of their size:
Wobbegong Orectolobus sp.
Hammerhead Sphyrna sp.
Blue Shark Prionace glauca.
Mako Isurus sp.
Grey Nurse Shark Carcharias taurus.
Remember - any large animal must be considered potentially dangerous to humans (on land or in the sea).

Gut ich muss Ehrlich zugeben, ich wollte ja extra nach Australien, wegen der vielen Haiarten, aber ich wollte eher Käfig-


tolly wrote:Bei Haien gibt es eine bestimmte Zeit, bei dir sie auf die Jagd gehen (meistens bei der Dämmerung). Wenn du in dieser Zeit einen Hai antriffst, hast du Pech gehabt. Wenn du Glück hast - wie in deinem Fall - dann hat der Hai schlichtweg einen vollen Bauch gehabt und keinen Appetit mehr. Bei Weiten endet auch nicht jede Begegnung mit einem Hai tödlich. Ich selbst hab so etwas mal in Kroatien mitgemacht. Da schwamm der Hai einfach unter mir weg (hatte aber auch die Hosen voll).
Wenn man sich zu klug verhält und ruhig bleibt, geht das oftmals glücklich aus.




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