Between 1791 and April 2018 it was reported that there have been 1,068shark attacks in Australia with 237 of them being fatal.
Four species of sharks account for the vast majority of fatalattacks on humans: thebull shark,tiger shark,oceanic whitetip shark and thegreat white shark.
In 2021 Australian authorities pushed to rebrand shark attacks as "negative encounters" or "interactions" to boost conservation efforts and alter perceptions of sharks as vicious.[1]
Sinceshark netting began in 1937, the number of deaths from sharks on beaches has been reduced in New South Wales, with only one fatal attack on a netted beach during that time. In Queensland there has not been a fatal attack on a netted beach since nets were introduced in the 1960s.[2]
The AustralianDepartment of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts states precautions which can be taken to reduce the risk of shark attacks.[3] These include avoiding swimming far from the shore, at the mouth of a river or on drop-offs to deeper water; avoiding swimming in dirty water, alone or with domestic animals, near people fishing, or at dusk or night; and to leave the water if schools of fish behave erratically or group in large numbers. TheAustralian Institute of Marine Science also states many of these and other precautions including not wearing jewelry or reflective clothing while swimming, and not swimming with any bleeding wounds.[4]
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| Name, age | Date | Species | Location; Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lauren O'Neill, 29 | 29 January 2024 | Bull shark | Local resident Lauren O'Neill was swimming at dusk close to the shore atElizabeth Bay inSydney Harbour, when a bull shark was believed to have bitten her on the leg below the knee. Residents of the nearby waterfront apartment building heard her cries for help and assisted in stemming blood flow until medics arrived. O'Neill was taken to nearbySt Vincent's Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.[5] |
| Joe Hoffman, 25 | 5 July 2021 | Great white shark | Hoffman, a surfer, was mauled by a white shark while surfing atCrescent Head on the NSW Mid North Coast. He suffered severe injuries to his right arm but surgeons expected it would be saved.[6] |
| Unnamed, 25 | 23 June 2021 | A surfer was attacked by an unidentified species off the coast ofLeeman.[7] | |
| Jackson Bartlett, 10 | 11 June 2021 | Bronze whaler | Snorkeling at Five Finger Reef nearCoral Bay.[8] |
| Lucas Arnott, 10 | 17 July 2020 | Great white shark | Five km offshore fromStanley, Tasmania, a ten-year-old boy was grabbed by a shark and pulled into the water from a 6 m fishing boat. The boy's father jumped into the water and retrieved the child, who suffered lacerations to his arm and cuts to his head and chest.[9][10] Appears the child's lifejacket protected the boy, which was shredded.[11] |
| Wil Schroeter, 59 | 17 January 2020 | Wil Schroeter, a 59-year-old father of two from Albion Park, bitten around the foot while surfing at Windang Beach.[12] | |
| Chris Blowes, 26 | 25 April 2015 | Great white shark | Blowes and friends were surfing at Fishery Bay, 35 km from Port Lincoln in South Australia when a 6 m great white attacked. Blowes' life was saved when his friends wrapped a leg rope as a tourniquet until he was air lifted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He lost his left leg and was clinically dead (his heart stopped for 90 minutes following the attack) but has made a remarkable recovery. |
| Paddy Trumbull, 60 | 13 February 2010 | Trumbull, a 60-year-old grandmother from Sydney, survived a shark attack off north-eastern Australia. She suffered severe lacerations to her buttocks and lost several pints of blood in the attack, which took place on the afternoon of Saturday, 13 February 2010, while she and her husband were snorkeling off Dent Island in Queensland.[13] | |
| Paul de Gelder, 31 | 11 February 2009 | Bull shark | An Australian navy diver was attacked by a shark whilst training nearGarden Island inSydney Harbour. He lost an arm and a leg in the attack.[14][15] |
| Dirk Avery, 52, | November 2000 | Great white shark | Dirk Avery, a friend of Ken Crew, was badly wounded by his legs when he tried to defend him from the shark. Crew lost his leg and died. |
| Rodney Fox, 23 | December 1963 | Great white shark | Attacked while spearfishing and badly bitten around the chest and arm and survived. |
| Albert Pride, 20 | February 1951 | Lake Illawarra, fought off an attacking shark with apenknife.[16] | |
| Oates, youth | December 1929 | Currumbin, punched and kicked shark and fought it off.[17] |
