This is a list of fatal shark attacks in Australia. The Australian Shark-Incident Database has recorded that between 1791 and April 2018 there were 237 fatal shark attacks in Australia. [1] In the two years of 2020 and 2021 there were 11 fatal shark attacks in Australia. [2]
Year | Date | Area | Activity | Victim | Sex | Age | Injury | Time | Species | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1791 | Port Jackson | Aboriginal woman | Female | "bitten in two" | 3:00 AM | [3] | ||||
1837 | 17 January | Macleay River | Bathing | Alfred Australia Howe | Male | 12 | Killed by shark | Evening | [4] | |
1840 | December | Off The Domain, Sydney Harbour | Swimming | Male | [5] | |||||
1841 | 27 March | Cockatoo Island, Sydney | Bathing | Andrew Goggin | Male | 14:00 | [6] | |||
1845 | 26 December | Newcastle | Fishing | John Williams | Male | [7] | ||||
1849 | 1 December | Woolloomooloo, Sydney Harbour (Estuary) | Bathing | Sailor from the steamship Eagle | Male | Afternoon | [8] | |||
1849 | 9 December | Sydney Harbour | Male | [9] | ||||||
1852 | 9 October (reported) | Coalcliff | Fell overboard | James Rogers | Male | [10] | ||||
1863 | 10 January | "Bellynahinch" on the Manning River | Bathing | James Brown | Male | 17 | Evening | [11] | ||
1871 | Manning River | Male | Severed legs | [12] | ||||||
1876 | Sydney | Unnamed boy | Male | Killed by shark | [13] | |||||
1876 | 14 May | Sydney Harbour | Swimming | Frederick Brown | Male | [14] | ||||
1877 | 12 December | Near Sydney | Washed overboard from the barque Mary Eady | 2 males | Male | [15] | ||||
1878 | Balmain, Sydney (Estuary) | Bathing in 2 feet of water | Male | 11 | Leg severed | [16] | ||||
1882 | 23 January (reported) | Darling Harbour, Sydney | Bathing | George Sinclair | Male | [17] | ||||
1882 | 15 April | Lake Macquarie | Fishing | Male | [18] | |||||
1883 | 21 January | Iron Cove, Sydney | Bathing | John Eaton | Male | 37 | 05:30 | [19] | ||
1883 | 19 December | Parramatta River | Swimming | Cuthbert Vere Lysaght | Male | 21 | 12:00 | [20] | ||
1888 | December | Hawkesbury Bridge, Sydney | Working on the bridge when he fell into the river | Mr. Ryland | Male | [21] | ||||
1888 | 9 December | Iron Cove Bridge, Sydney (Estuary) | Swimming | Stephen Carter | Male | 11 | 13:00 | [22] | ||
1887 | 4 December | Ryde, Sydney (Estuary) | Thomas Cochrane (William Charles Corkhill) | Male | 11:30 | 12 to 15 foot shark | [23] | |||
1895 | 27 February | Sydney Harbour | Swimming | James Edward Clifton Donald | Male | 14 | [24] | |||
1895 | 16 November | Jervis Bay | Fishing | Edward Bailey | Male | [25] | ||||
1895 | 9 December | West Balmain, Sydney | Bathing | Thomas John Terrill | Male | 14 | [26] | |||
1896 | 11 January | Johnstone's Bay, Sydney | Bathing | William Ready | Male | 11 | Afternoon | [27] | ||
1898 | 26 July (reported) | Sydney | Swimming after their boat capsized | Martin Gunner | Male | 20 | [28] | |||
1900 | 27 December | Middle Harbour, Sydney | Bathing | Thomas Houstan | Male | [29] | ||||
1902 | 25 January (reported) | Kerosene Bay | Dangling feet in the water | John Ogier | Male | [30] | ||||
1903 | circa | Swimming inside string of cedar logs | Arab boy | Male | Grey Nurse Shark | [31] | ||||
1903 | 10 January | Lane Cove River, Sydney Harbour (Estuary) | Sydney James | Male | Tiger or Bull Shark | [32] | ||||
1903 | 21 June | Georges River | Swimming | William Price | Male | [33] | ||||
1906 | 28 January | Georges River | Bathing | William Joseph Dobson. | Male | 31 or 33 | 14:10 | Possibly a Bull Shark | [34] | |
1907 | 23 December | Middle Harbour, Sugarloaf Bay, Sydney (Estuary) | Bathing | Henry Jones | Male | Bull Shark | [35] | |||
1909 | 15 December | 20 miles off Sydney | Fell overboard | Mr. Witt | Male | |||||
1910 | 26 January | Newcastle Harbour | Alfred Victor Clulow | Male | [36] | |||||
1912 | 26 January | Fig Tree Bridge, Lane Cove River, near Sydney | Swimming | James Edward Morgan | Male | 21 | 15:00 | Whaler Shark | [37] | |
1915 | 1 January | Sirius Cove, Sydney Harbour | Bathing | Warren Tooze | Male | 17 | [38] | |||
1916 | 25 April (reported) | Manly Beach | Swimming | Thomas Harrington | Male | [39] | ||||
1916 | 8 December | Seven Shillings Beach, Middle Harbour, Sydney (Estuary) | Taking wife to beach & about 1 m from the shore | Walter C. German | Male | 41 | Right arm severed, chest punctured | 09:00 | [40] | |
1919 | 9 January | Sirius Cove, Sydney Harbour | Wading | Richard Simpson | Male | 13 | Right thigh bitten | 07:30 | [41] | |
1919 | 7 December | Pelican Island, Macleay River | Swimming | James Ridley | Male | 47 | Left leg & calf bitten, leg surgically amputated | 05:30 | Possibly a Bull Shark | [42] |
1920 | 15 January | Throsby Creek, Newcastle | Swimming | David Miller | Male | 12 | Leg attacked | 10:00 | [43] | |
1922 | 4 January | Stockton Beach, Newcastle | Surfing | John Manning Rowe | Male | 26 | Disappeared, then his shark-bitten remains washed ashore | Evening | Thought to be a shark | [44] |
1922 | 4 February | Coogee, Sydney | Swimming | Milton Coughlan | Male | 18 | Both arms & shoulder bitten | 15:30 | Thought to be a White shark | [45] |
1922 | 2 March | Coogee, Sydney | Bathing in knee-deep water | Mervyn Gannon | Male | 21 | Right hand severed, lacerations on left thigh & left hand, died in hospital of gas gangrene | 11:00 | 8-foot White Shark | [46] |
1922 | 26 April | Hawkesbury River | Swimming | William A. Munro | Male | [47] | ||||
1923 | 16 June | Bellambi Reef | Attempting to swim ashore after rowing skiff was holed by shark | J. Rigby | Male | Taken by shark. Two other men drowned, only 1 man survived | [48] | |||
1923 | 2 November | Bellinger Heads | Fishing | Male | Thought to be a Shark | [49] | ||||
1923 | 2 December | Urunga, Bellinger Heads | Fishing, standing in waist-deep water | James Elton | Male | Disappeared, thought to have been taken by a shark | [50] | |||
1924 | 9 January | Near Asbestos Works, Camellia, Sydney, Parramatta River | Had just dived into water & was swimming | Charles Brown | Male | 16 | Right thigh severely bitten, left arm lacerated | 16:00 | Said to be a 3 m (9.8 ft) grey nurse shark, but likely a Bull Shark | [51] |
1924 | 25 April | Kiama | Fishing, fell in water & swimming strongly to shore | Ernest Conroy | Male | 20 | Partial remains recovered | Afternoon | [52] | |
1925 | 12 March | Newcastle Beach | Swimming | Jack Canning | Male | 16 | Right forearm severed, lacerations from buttocks to heel | 15:15 | [53] | |
1927 | 15 miles up the Cataract River | Swimming | Male | 10 | Shoulder bitten | [54] | ||||
1927 | 3 January | Grays Point, Port Hacking, Sydney | Swimming | Mervwyn Allum | Male | 15 | Leg bitten from thigh to ankle | 11:30 | 3.7 m (12 ft) shark | [55] |
1928 | 4 April | Cooks Hill, Newcastle | Standing in waist-deep water | Edward Arthur Lane | Male | 28 | Right hand severed, large lacerations on thigh | 18:00 | [56] | |
1929 | 12 January | Bondi | Body surfing | Colin James Stewart | Male | 14 | Right thigh & hip bitten | 18:10 | [57] | |
1929 | 8 February | Bondi | Swimming | John Gibson | Male | 39 | Right thigh bitten, femoral artery severed | 16:00 | [58] | |
1929 | 18 February | Maroubra Bay, Sydney | Body surfing | Allan Butcher | Male | 20 | Both thighs lacerated, right foot, fingers and knee abraded, died of sepsis | 15:30 | [59] | |
1929 | 26 December | White Bay, near Bald Rock Jetty, Sydney Harbour | Diving by wharf | William Oakley | Male | 16 | Left arm severed above elbow, lacerations on chest, right thumb severed, left thigh lacerated to bone, abrasions | Tiger Shark | [60] | |
1930 | December | Parramatta River | Male | |||||||
1930 | 13 December | Sailor Bay, Middle Harbour, Sydney | Fell overboard | Frank Kenny | Male | [61] | ||||
1934 | 12 March | Dee Why, north of Queenscliff | Swimming in hip-deep water | Frank Athol Riley | Male | 17 | Leg & buttocks removed | 15:00 | White Shark | [62] |
1934 | 1 April | North Steyne | Swimming in waist-deep water | Leon Ritson Hermes | Male | 15 | Right leg lacerated | 12:30 | White Shark | [63] |
1934 | 23 December | Woy Woy on the Brisbane Water | Taken as he dived into the water | Roy Inman | Male | 14 | 13:00 | Thought to be a Bull Shark | [64] | |
1934 | 31 December | Georges River at Moorebank, near Milperra Bridge | Swimming (lead swimmer in race) | Richard George Soden | Male | 19 | Left leg bitten | 16:30 | [65] | |
1935 | 2 March | North Narrabeen Beach | Standing | Herbert McFarlane | Male | 22 | Thigh bitten | 17:30 | Large White Shark | [66] |
1935 | 9 March | Maroubra Beach | Swimming | Ernest MacDonald | Male | 27 | Left thigh, buttock, left forearm bitten, finger removed | 12:30 | Large White Shark | [67] |
1936 | 4 February | South Steyne, Manly | Swimming | David Paton | Male | 14 | Taken by shark, body not recovered. Twenty months later, in October 1937, meshing (setting anti-shark gill nets) began at metropolitan beaches | 15:00 | White Shark | [68] |
1936 | 12 December | Throsby Creek, Newcastle | Swimming | George Lundberg | Male | 15 | Leg severed at knee | 11:30 | 3.7 m (12 ft) shark | [69] |
1937 | 13 February | Bar Beach, Newcastle | Swimming | John Welsh | Male | 32 | Buttocks, ankle & right elbow bitten | 15:20 | White shark | [70] |
1938 | 27 December | North Beach, Bellinger River | Swimming | Daniel Graham | Male | 19 | Thought to have been taken by a shark | [71] | ||
1940 | 23 January | North Brighton, Botany Bay | Swimming | Maxwell Farrin | Male | 13 | Left leg severed | 10:40 | White Shark | [72] |
1940 | 4 February | North Brighton, Botany Bay | Wading | John William Eke | Male | 55 | Injuries to both arms | 14:00 | White Shark ^ | [73] |
1940 | 28 December | Stockton Beach, Newcastle | Standing on sandbank | Clarence Hammond | Male | 23 | Injuries to lower back | 09:00 | White Shark | [74] |
1942 | 4 January | Egg Rock, Middle Harbour, Sydney | Swimming | Zita Steadman | Female | 28 | Bitten in two | 15:00 | Possibly a Bull Shark | [75] |
1942 | 26 December | Bantry Bay, near Ironstone Point, Middle Harbour, Sydney | Dog paddling or standing | Denise Rosemary Burch | Female | 15 | Legs bitten | 10:50 | Thought to be a Bull Shark | [76] |
1946 | 5 January | Oatley Bay near Como, George's River | Swimming | Valma Tegel | Female | 14 | Left leg severed, right leg injured | Said to be a 2.4 m (8 ft) Shark | [77] | |
1947 | 8 November | Maria River, Port Macquarie, 12 miles from river mouth | Swimming | Edwin Elford | Male | 12 | Leg severed at knee | 16:00 | Thought to be a Bull Shark | [78] |
1948 | 12 February | Stockton Beach, Newcastle | Swimming | Ronald Johnson | Male | 16 | Right thigh & leg bitten | White Shark | [79] | |
1949 | 23 January | Bar Beach, Newcastle | Lifesaving exhibition | Ray Land | Male | 20 | 15:00 | White Shark | [80] | |
1951 | 6 December | Merewether Beach, Newcastle | Treading water | Frank Olkulich, the local surf-ski champion | Male | 21 | 16:00 | [81] | ||
1954 | 27 February | The Entrance, near Gosford | Swimming | Reg Fabrizius | Male | 23 | Right thigh bitten | 17:15 | White Shark | [82] |
1955 | 18 January | Wyargine Point, Edwards Beach, Balmoral Beach, Sydney | Hunting lobsters in 2.4 m of water | John Willis | Male | 13 | Anterior left leg & right calf bitten, no tissue lost | 14:30 | Thought to be a Bronze Whaler Shark | [83] |
1955 | 5 February | Sugarloaf Bay, Middle Harbour, Sydney | Swimming | Bruno Aloysius Rautenberg | Male | 25 | Legs bitten | 14:35 | White Shark | [84] |
1955 | 9 March | Wamberal | Body surfing | Noel Langford | Male | 22 | 18:00 | White Shark | [85] | |
1960 | 16 January | Just below Roseville Bridge, opposite Killarney picnic reserve, Middle Harbour, Sydney | Free diving | Kenneth William Murray | Male | 13 | Right leg severed above knee, surgically amputated but died 9 days later | 15:30 | Thought to be a Bull Shark | [86] |
1963 | 28 January | Sugarloaf Bay, Middle Harbour, Sydney | Wading | Marcia Hathaway | Female | 32 | Right femoral artery severed, thigh, calf, buttock & left hand bitten | 13:30 | Bull Shark | [87] |
1966 | 20 May | Jervis Bay | Sinking of the dredge World Atlas | Kor Van Helden | Male | 40 | Night | [88] | ||
1966 | 20 May | 7 miles offshore on east coast of Australia | Shipwreck | Daniel Mangel, seaman | Male | 38 | Other human remains bitten by sharks, 13 people missing | Dark | Thought to be a White Shark | [89] |
1982 | 7 March | Tallow Beach, Byron Bay | Surfing | Martin Ford | Male | 20 | Legs bitten | 12:00 | [90] | |
1993 | 9 June | Julian Rocks, Byron Bay | Scuba diving | John Ford | Male | 31 | 09:30 | Great White Shark | [91] | |
2008 | 8 April | Lighthouse Beach, Ballina | Body boarding | Peter Edmonds | Male | 16 | Re investigation required. | 08:05 | Possibly a Bull Shark | [92] |
2013 | 30 November | Riecks Point, Campbell's Beach | Body boarding | Zac Young | Male | 19 | Advice given at beach is a Great White attacked Zac. Shark then ID'd as a Tiger. | 14:00 | Great White Shark | [93] |
2014 | 3 April | Tathra Beach | Swimming | Christine Armstrong | Female | 63 | Eaten Whole | 08:50 | Great White Shark | [94] |
2014 | 9 September | Clarkes Beach, Byron Bay | Swimming | Paul Wilcox | Male | 50 | Right leg attacked femoral artery severed. | 10:40 | Great White Shark | [95] |
2015 | 9 February | Shelly Beach, Ballina | Surfing | Tadashi Nakahara | Male | 41 | Legs taken off completely | 9:55 | Great White Shark | [96] |
2020 | 7 June | Salt Beach, Kingscliff | Surfing | Rob Pedretti | Male | 60 | Significant injuries to left leg, bitten in back of left thigh | 10:00 | Great White Shark | [97] [98] |
2020 | 11 July | Wooli Beach, Wilsons Headland | Surfing | Mani Hart-Deville | Male | 15 | Significant injuries to both legs | 14:30 | Great White Shark 14ft | [99] [100] |
2021 | 18 May | Tuncurry Beach, Tuncurry | Surfing | Mark Sanguinetti | Male | 59 | Bitten on upper thigh | [101] | ||
2021 | 5 September | Shelly Beach, Emerald Beach | Surfing | Timothy Thompson | Male | 31 | Significant arm injuries | 11:45 | [102] | |
2022 | 16 February | Buchan Point, Little Bay | Swimming | Simon Nellist | Male | 35 | Injuries described as "catastrophic." | 16:35 | Great White Shark | [103] [104] |
Year | Date | Area | Activity | Victim | Sex | Age | Injury | Time | Species | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1883 | 25 February (reported) | Pearling beds | Diving | Male | [105] | |||||
1934 | 9 October | Redcliff, Cobourg Peninsula | Bathing | Aboriginal woman | Female | 38 | [106] | |||
1937 | 16 July (reported) | Elcho Island | Pearl diving | Japanese hard hat diver | Male | [107] |
Year | Date | Area | Activity | Victim | Sex | Age | Injury | Time | Species | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1853 | Moreton Bay | Fell into the water | James Hexton, pilot | Male | [108] | |||||
1862 | 19 December (reported) | Brisbane River | Trying to catch a wounded bird | Male | [109] | |||||
1863 | April | Caloundra Heads | Launching a boat | Mr. Barnsfield | Male | 2 sharks | [110] | |||
1872 | 26 February | Bramble Reef | Wreck of the 150-ton brig Maria | Some were taken by sharks | [111] | |||||
1880 | 25 November | Petrie Bight, Brisbane River | Swimming | Alexey Drury | Male | 12 | Feet bitten, surgically amputated | Afternoon | [112] | |
1886 | 17 June | Off Bribie Heads | Swimming after being washed overboard | Lacoon | Male | 18 | [113] | |||
1890 | 30 December | Moreton Bay | Swimming to shore after boat capsized by a squall | C. Gregory | but death may have been due to drowning | [114] | ||||
1892 | Badu Island | Dress diving | Mr. A. Rotaman | Male | Bitten in two by shark that he molested with a knife. Buried at Batu Island. PROVOKED INCIDENT | [115] | ||||
1898 | 28 December (reported) | The Narrows | Fell overboard | James Waters | Male | [116] | ||||
1901 | 30 January | Brisbane | Bathing | John Thompson | Male | Thigh bitten | [117] | |||
1903 | 12 March | Logan River | Swimming | William Bartlett | Male | Thought to be a Bull Shark | [118] | |||
1904 | 7 February | Brisbane | Swimming after his hat | George Grant | Male | [119] | ||||
1906 | 14 April | Lizard Island | Diving for beche-de-mer | Charley | Male | 17 | [120] | |||
1906 | 5 September (reported) | Mabiuag | Swimming | Smith | Male | [121] | ||||
1907 | 3 February | Ross Creek | Bathing | William Williams | Male | 18 | Morning | [122] | ||
1907 | 18 October (reported) | Near Thursday Island | Bathing | male from the lugger Teazer | Male | [123] | ||||
1908 | 21 September | Thursday Island | Fell from the jetty | Kong Choong Ting | Male | Remains recovered from 3 sharks | [124] | |||
pre–1909 | Moreton Bay | Fell into the water | Lieutenant Hexton | Male | [125] | |||||
1909 | 18 June | Middleton Reef, 300 nm from Brisbane | 1446-ton Norwegian barque Errol, bound from Peru to Newcastle with 22 on board wrecked. Survivors sheltered on the wreck of the Annasona. Subsequently, the Master, his wife & 4 children perished along with several crew. Survivors (5) were rescued 7/12/1909 | Master of the Errol | Male | only his legs, still in sea-boots, were recovered | [126] | |||
1912 | 1 January | Ross Creek | Bathing | Samuel Tristing | Male | Morning | [127] | |||
1916 | 9 November | Kissing Point Camp, Townsville | Bathing | Robert Alexander Poultney | Male | 27 | Evening | [128] | ||
1916 | 10 November | Townsville | Swimming | Walter Gregson | Male | 06:00 | [129] | |||
1918 | 19 September | Townsville | Bathing | Joseph Bartlett | Male | 22 | [130] | |||
1919 | 5 January | Ross River, Townsville | Wading (shrimping) | Jack Hoey | Male | 38 | Thigh bitten, leg amputated | 10:00 | [131] | |
1920 | 24 January (reported) | Arlington Reef | Free diving | Japanese diver | Male | [132] | ||||
1920–1923 | Great Barrier Reef | 3 Japanese divers | Male | [133] | ||||||
1921 | 4 October | Barrier Reef | Diving for beche-de-mer | Yoichi Schamok | Male | 22 | Left thigh bitten | Afternoon | [134] | |
1921 | 27 November | Gay's Corner, Bulimba Reach of Brisbane River | Fell from his father's back into the water | George Jack | Male | 8 | Disappeared, body not recovered | Morning | [135] | |
1922 | 15 January | Ross River, Townsville | Swimming | Robert Milroy | Male | 54 | 17:30 | [136] | ||
1922 | 5 December | Pialba Beach near Maryborough | Bathing in 3' to 4' of water | Alfred Gassman | Male | 19 | Severe injuries to torso | 2.7 m [9'] "blue" shark | [137] | |
1923 | 22 May | Great Barrier Reef | Diving? | Keizo Masoyo | Male | Midday | [138] | |||
1926 | 2 December (reported) | Palm Island | Diving for trochus | Norman Skeen | Male | [139] | ||||
1927 | 9 May (reported) | Off Cairns | Walking | Quassa, a Torres Strait Islander | Male | [140] | ||||
1928 | 27 January | Deliverance Island | Retrieving meat from a cage in the water | Harry Envoldt | Male | 78 | [141] | |||
1928 | 20 February | Near Barrow Point, Queensland | Pearl diving | Wanewa, a Torres Strait Islander | Male | [142] | ||||
1928 | 28 March (reported) | Bob | Male | [143] | ||||||
1929 | 27 January | Alma Bay, Magnetic Island, Townsville | Swimming | Harry Weatherall | Male | 18 | Right buttock lacerated, left arm severed above elbow, right forearm severed by shark, both arms surgically amputated | 17:30 | [144] | |
1929 | 12 March | Near Dauan Island | Bathing | Torres Strait Islander schoolboy | Male | [145] | ||||
1929 | 4 April | Badu Island | Swimming between boats | Ned Luffman, a Torres Strait Islander | Male | [146] | ||||
1929 | 9 April | Badu Island | Male | [147] | ||||||
1929 | 1 September | Ross River, Townsville | Fell from wharf into water & attacked immediately | Edward William Hobbs | Male | 42 | Severe injuries to both legs | [148] | ||
1929 | 3 December (reported) | Townsville | Male | 50s | [149] | |||||
1930 | 4 June | Near Mabuiag Island | Ibigan, a Torres Strait islander | Male | [150] | |||||
1931 | 22 March | Ross River, Townsville | Fishing with a cast net | Arthur Tomida | Male | 19 | Left thigh severely bitten | [151] | ||
1931 | 1 August | Port Douglas | Fell overboard? | Llewellyn Roberts | Male | [152] | ||||
1932 | 12 May | Near Warrior Reefs | Pearl diving | Henry Solomon, Cape York native | Male | [153] | ||||
1933 | 4 January | Strand Beach, Kissing Point, Townsville | Swimming | Stanley Victor Locksley | Male | 38 | Severe abdominal wounds (Note: 14 days earlier a dog was bitten in two by a large shark) | 17:30 | [154] | |
1933 | 20 November | Near Boydong Cay | Free diving for trochus | Bili, a Papuan | Male | Right buttock & thigh bitten | 3.4 m [11'] tiger shark | [155] | ||
1934 | 26 August | Off Eva Island 20 miles from Cardwell | Dived into sea from launch & bitten immediately | Robert Steele | Male | Body was not recovered | [156] | |||
1934 | 22 October | Warrior Reefs | Freediving for trochus shell (submerged) | David Younger, Torres Strait Islander | Male | Forearm lacerated & surgically amputated, but died of gas gangrene 13 days afterwards | [157] | |||
1935 | 13 August | Near Warrior Reefs, Queensland | Diving for beche-de-mer from lugger | Barani, a Papuan | Male | Right buttock & thigh bitten | [158] | |||
1935 | 26 August | At Flat Top, near Mackay | Fell overboard, hanging onto lifebuoy | Patrick Quinn | Male | 38 | His body was not recovered, but about 3 weeks later 2 sharks were caught with human remains, thought to be those of Quinn | Night | 3.7 m [12'] shark | [159] |
1936 | 26 June | Nepean Island | Diving for trochus, but swimming on surface | Willie, an aborigine | Male | 16 | 2.4 m [8'] tiger shark | [160] | ||
1937 | 15 May | Ross River, Townsville | Refused permission to cross on the ferry, he was swimming across the river | William Tennant | Male | 33 | Left arm severed at elbow, right arm bitten, right leg severed at knee | Night | 2 days later a 600-lb shark was caught 100 yards from the site | [161] |
1937 | 27 October | Kirra Beach, Coolangatta | Swimming | Norman Girvan | Male | 18 | 17:30 | A 3.6 m [11 ft 10 in], 850-kg [1874-lb] female tiger contained Girvan's remains | [162] | |
1937 | 27 October | Kirra Beach, Coolangatta | Swimming | Jack Brinkley | Male | 25 | 17:30 | Tiger shark | [163] | |
1937 | 11 November | Ota Reef | Diving for trochus | Nelan Kris | Male | 17 | 12' shark | [164] | ||
1938 | 12 July | Off Bathurst Island | Hardhat diving from Japanese pearling lugger, Reiyo Maru | Okada | Male | 25 | Dragged out of diving helmet | [165] | ||
1939 | 14 December | Rubbish Dump Creek, Mackay | Swimming | Frank Gurran | Male | 20 | Left foot & right leg bitten, later surgically amputated | 12:15 | 2.6 m [8.5'] shark landed 2 hours later | [166] |
1943 | 14 May | Off Brisbane | Hospital Ship Centaur torpedoed & sunk by the Japanese submarine I-177 | Male | After 04:00 | [167] | ||||
1945 | 15 June | Trinity Beach, Cairns | Swimming | E. J. McHugh | Male | 16:00 | [168] | |||
1946 | 19 April | Trinity Beach, Cairns | Swimming | Robert McAuliffe | Male | 17 | 13:30 | [169] | ||
1946 | 18 August | Ellis Beach, 20 miles from Cairns | Swimming after a tennis ball | Phillip South Collin | Male | 30 | Body not recovered | 15:20 | 4.3 m [14'] shark | [170] |
1946 | 20 November | 40 miles off Thursday Island | Pearl diving from lugger | Esrona Johnson, Torres Strait islander | Male | 30 | Right arm severed | [171] | ||
1947 | November | Moreton Bay | D. Smith | 78 | [172] | |||||
1948 | 26 December | King's Beach, Caloundra | Treading water, waiting for a wave | Eric Keys | Male | 28 | Left hand severed, left leg arm bitten, tissue removed hip to knee | 11:30 | [173] | |
1949 | 17 April | Ellis Beach, 20 miles from Cairns | Bathing in water 0.9 m deep | Richard Joseph Maguire | Male | 13 | Left leg severed | 13:30 | 3.3 m [10 ft 10 in] shark | [174] |
1949 | 28 August | Yorkeys Knob | Swimming | James Howard | Male | 34 | Right leg, thigh & fingers lacerated | 13:20 | [175] | |
1950 | 9 April | Cooper's Point | Sea Disaster, sinking of the fishing launch Mavis | John McDonald | Male | 50 | [176] | |||
1950 | 16 December | Palm Beach North, 5 miles north of Burleigh Heads, Brisbane | Treading water | Desmond Quinlan, lifesaver | Male | 20 | Lower abdomen severely bitten, left leg severed | 16:15 | [177] | |
1951 | 4 September (reported) | Fitzroy River, near Rockhampton | Body found on deserted luxury yacht, 38' Christine | Dr. E. Al Joske | Male | 56 | Abdominal wounds & right leg severed at the hip | [178] | ||
1951 | 22 October | Ocean baths, Kissing Point Beach | Swimming | Arthur James Kenealey | Male | 42 | Leg severed, shark dragged him through hole in protective net | 19:10 | [179] | |
1954 | 4 September | Darnley Island, Torres Strait | Spearfishing, hunting crayfish | Kapua Gutchen | Male | 35 | After being bitten by shark, he was picked up by 85' trochus vessel Toorah that wrecked. His wounds reopened & he died | 9' shark | [180] | |
1954 | 14 September (reported) | Darnley Island, Torres Strait | Spear fishing | male | Male | [181] | ||||
1956 | 26 February | Pioneer River, near Mackay | Diving into water | Barry Keith Antonini | Male | 15 | Large amount of tissue removed from leg, artery severed | 11:00 | 1.8 m [6'] shark | [182] |
1958 | 23 November | Surfers Paradise | Swimming | Peter Gerard Spronk | Male | 21 | 15:15 | 12' shark | [183] | |
1959 | 19 December | Off Wynnum in Moreton Bay, near Brisbane | Dived from dinghy to retrieve oar in heavy seas | Stanley Arthur Mullen | Male | 29 | 06:00 | [184] | ||
1961 | 18 December | Noosa Heads | Surfing, pushing board ashore | John Grayson Andrews | Male | 22 | Right wrist and hand bitten, left leg severed above knee | 06:15 | Next morning a 3 m [10'] shark was caught that had Andrews' leg in its gut | [185] |
1961 | 28 December | Lambert's Beach, Mackay | Standing | Margaret Hobbs | Female | 18 | Right arm severed at shoulder, left hand severed, right thigh bitten & surgically amputated. Died day after the attack | 16:15 | 3 m [10'] shark | [186] |
1964 | 18 November | Fingal Beach, near Tweed Heads | Swimming out to rescue swimmers in difficulty | Glenthorne Prior | Male | 29 | 13:30 | [187] | ||
1965 | 21 November | Near Brisbane | Fishing from 34' boat when pulled overboard by hooked shark | Gordon Hobrook | Male | 43 | 4.6 m [15'] shark | [188] | ||
1971 | 5 December | Gladstone | Gregory Carroll | Male | 20 | [189] | ||||
1977 | 13 March | Near Moreton Island in Moreton Bay | Their 9 m launch was run down by a 25,000-ton Japanese freighter on the night of 3-11-1977 & they drifted, clinging to an icebox for 2 days | John Hayes | Male | 45 | [190] | |||
1977 | 13 March | Near Moreton Island in Moreton Bay | Their 9 m launch was run down by a 25,000-ton Japanese freighter on the night of 3-11-1977 & they drifted, clinging to an icebox for 2 days | Victor Beaver | Male | 74 | [191] | |||
1977 | 23 August | Buddina Beach, south of Noosa | Floating on an inflatable raft | George Walter | Male | 25 | Left arm severed, legs bitten | [192] | ||
1983 | 25 July | Off Lodestone Reef, Great Barrier Reef, north of Townsville | Swimming from the New Venture | Dennis Patrick Murphy | Male | 24 | Shark bit leg, then dragged him underwater | Night | 5 m [16.5'] tiger shark | [193] |
1983 | 26 July | Off Lodestone Reef, Great Barrier Reef, north of Townsville | Swimming from the New Venture | Linda Ann Horton | Female | 21 | Shark seized her by the chest and took her underwater | 04:00 | 5 m [16.5'] tiger shark | [194] |
1984 | 30 November | 1 km off Black's Beach | Sailing on catamaran & fell into the water | Nicholas Bos | Male | 16 | 12:33 | [195] | ||
1988 | 7 November | Off North Keppel Island, off Yeppoon | The Christie V sank on 11/6/1988, survivors were adrift on a dinghy | Cedric Coucom | Male | 62 | Nightfall | [196] | ||
1988 | 8 November | Off North Keppel Island, off Yeppoon | The Christie V sank on 11/6/1988, survivors were adrift on a dinghy | Bruce Coucom | Male | 17 | When James Coucom, the lone survivor, was rescued, "2 sharks were pounding on the dinghy" | Early morning | [197] | |
1990 | 8 April | Dingo Reef, 80 nm off Townsville | Free diving for trochus | Robert Bullen | Male | 37 | Presumed fatal | [198] | ||
1992 | 1 October | North Point Beach, Moreton Island | Surfing | Michael Docherty | Male | 28 | 14:30 | Great White Shark | [199] | |
2002 | 16 December | Lake Heron, Miami Lakes | Swimming | Beau Martin | Male | 23 | 02:30 | Thought to be a Bull Shark | [200] | |
2003 | 8 February | Burleigh Lake, Gold Coast | Swimming | Bob Purcell | Male | 84 | Morning | [201] | ||
2004 | 11 December | Opal Reef | Spearfishing | Mark Thompson | Male | 38 | Leg bitten | 13:00 | [202] | |
2006 | 7 January | Amity Point, North Stradbroke Island | Swimming | Sarah Whiley | Female | 21 | Attacked by multiple sharks, arms severed before she died. | 17:15 | Multiple Bull Sharks | [203] |
2014 | 15 December | Rudder Reef, north-east of Port Douglas | Spearfishing | Daniel Smith | Male | 18 | Devastating injuries to whole right side. | 11:30 | Requires further investigation. | |
2016 | 16 February | near Kennedy Shoal | Scuba diving | Steven Foster | Male | 54 | Went missing 16 February. Clothing and diving equipment belonging to Foster were recovered, suggesting he was taken by a shark. | [204] | ||
2018 | 5 November | Cid Harbour, Whitsunday Islands | Swimming | Daniel Christidis | Male | 33 | 17:30 | [205] [206] | ||
2020 | 6 April | North West Island | Swimming | Zachary Robba | Male | 23 | [207] | |||
2020 | 4 July | Fraser Island | Spearfishing | Matthew Tratt | Male | 36 | 14:00 | [208] | ||
2020 | 8 September | Greenmount Beach, Coolangatta | Surfing | Nick Slater | Male | 46 | 17:00 | [209] [210] |
Year | Date | Area | Marine Waters | Activity | Victim | Sex | Age | Injury | Time | Species | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1855 | 28 March | Port Wakefield | Gulf St. Vincent | Fell overboard from the Sobella | Master Coleman | Male | [211] | ||||
1884 | 14 January | Port Pirie, 230 km north of Adelaide | Spencer Gulf | Fell overboard | Miss Warren | Female | Said to involve 2 sharks | [212] | |||
1926 | 17 March | West Beach, Brighton | Gulf St. Vincent | Swimming | Primrose Whyte | Female | 15:45 | 3.7 m [12'] "shovel nose shark" or 7-gill shark | [213] | ||
1936 | 22 January | West Beach, near Adelaide | Gulf St. Vincent | Swimming. Passer-by, Len Bedford, heard him shriek, saw shark leap from the water & swimmer disappeared | Ray Bennett | Male | 13 | 18:00 | Great White shark | [214] | |
1962 | 9 December | Carrickalinga Head | Gulf St. Vincent | Spearfishing | Geoffrey Martin Corner | Male | 16 | Right leg bitten thigh to calf | 14:30 | Great White Shark | [215] |
1971 | 5 September | Adelaide | Gulf St. Vincent | Fishing | Leslie Oswald Harris | Male | 51 | Shark bite was minor injury, but he suffered a heart attack afterwards and died 6 hours later | [216] | ||
1974 | 9 January | Streaky Bay | Great Australian Bight | Diving for abalone | Terry Manuel | Male | 26 | Right leg severed | Great White shark | [217] | |
1975 | 19 January | Coffin Bay | Great Australian Bight | Surfing | David Barrowman | Male | 17 | Body not recovered | [218] | ||
1975 | 10 February | (Point Sinclair) Penong | Great Australian Bight | Swimming underwater from crayfish cage to a fishing bait | Wade Shipard | Male | 12 | Right leg severed | 18:00 | Great White Shark | [219] |
1985 | 3 March | Wiseman's Beach, Peake Bay, Port Lincoln | Spencer Gulf | Free diving for scallops | Shirley Anne Durdin | Female | 33 | Bitten in half, decapitated and fully consumed. | 12:30 | Great White Shark 20 ft | [220] |
1987 | 18 September | Marino Rocks, Adelaide | Gulf St. Vincent | Scuba Diving for scallops | Terrance Gibson | Male | 47 | Great White shark | [221] | ||
1989 | 9 March | Waitpinga Beach, near Victor Harbor | Southern Ocean | Surfing | Matthew Foale | Male | 27 | Thigh bitten | 20:15 | Great White Shark | [222] |
1991 | 8 September | Snapper Point, Aldinga Beach, Adelaide | Gulf St. Vincent | Scuba diving | Jonathon Lee | Male | 19 | 15:00 | Great White Shark | [223] | |
1998 | 28 June | South Neptune Island | Great Australian Bight | Free diving for abalone | Doug Chesher | Male | 26 | Left thigh and lower leg severely injured | 14:00 | Great White Shark | [224] |
1999 | 29 May | Hardwicke Bay, Yorke Peninsula | Spencer Gulf | Windsurfing | Tony Donoghue | Male | 22 | Body not recovered | 14:30 | Great White Shark | [225] |
2000 | 24 September | Cactus Beach near Penong | Great Australian Bight | Surfing | Cameron Bayes | Male | 25 | fully consumed | 07:30 | Great White Shark 16 ft | [226] |
2000 | 25 September | Blackfellows Point, 5 km north of Elliston, Eyre Peninsula | Great Australian Bight | Surfing (a seal was present among surfers) | Jevan Wright | Male | 17 | fully consumed | 13:00 | Great White Shark 16 ft | [227] [228] [229] |
2002 | 30 April | Smoky Bay, near Ceduna, on the Eyre Peninsula | Great Australian Bight | Scallop diving (using surface-supplied air & a POD) | Paul Buckland | Male | 23 | 12:40 | Great White Shark | [230] | |
2004 | 16 December | West Beach, Adelaide | Gulf St. Vincent | Scurfing (surfboard being towed behind a boat) | Nick Peterson | Male | 18 | Ripped apart, then consumed | 15:15 | Two Great White Sharks | [231] |
2005 | 24 August | Glenelg, Adelaide | Gulf St. Vincent | Scuba diving | Jarrod Stehbens | Male | 23 | 16:10 | Great White Shark | [232] | |
2011 | 17 February | Off Perforated Island, near Coffin Bay | Great Australian Bight | Diving for abalone | Peter Clarkson | Male | 49 | 18:20 | Two Great White Sharks | [233] | |
2014 | 8 February | Off Goldsmith Beach near Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsula | Gulf St. Vincent | Spear-fishing | Sam Kellett | Male | 28 | Body never recovered. | 12:00 | Great White Shark | [234] [235] |
2023 | 13 May | Off Walkers Rocks Beach, Eyre Peninsula | Great Australian Bight | Surfing | Simon Baccanello | Male | 46 | Body never recovered | Great White Shark | [236] [237] | |
2023 | 31 October | Off Granites Beach, near Streaky Bay | Great Australian Bight | Surfing | Tod Gendle | Male | 55 | Body never recovered, fully consumed | 10:20 | Great White Shark | [238] |
2023 | 28 December | Off Ethel Beach, Yorke Peninsula | Spencer Gulf | Surfing | Khai Cowley | Male | 15 | Body recovered | 13:30 | Great White Shark | [239] [240] |
Year | Date | Area | Activity | Victim | Sex | Age | Injury | Time | Species | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1820s | circa | Sweet Water Point, Pittwater | "Amphibious Jack" | Male | [241] | |||||
1831 | 22 January (reported) | Hobart | Boat capsized, clinging to line | Robert Dudlow | Male | [242] | ||||
1870 | late | Derwent River | Canoeing | Sub Lieut. Bowyer of H.M.S. Chile | Male | Shark bit canoe in half & bit man. Note: There is an earlier story of shark attack in same river | [243] | |||
1880 | St George's Bay | Male | [244] | |||||||
1843-1844 | Circa. Reported on 14 September 1883. | Between Port Arthur Penal Colony & Forestier Peninsula | Swimming / escaping imprisonment | Owen | Male | [245] | ||||
1893 | 4 April | Chimney Point, George's Bay | Boat capsized, swimming ashore | Joseph Meredith | Male | 16:30 | [246] | |||
1905 | 25 March | Bridport | Bathing | Charles Taylor | [247] | |||||
1959 | 17 January | Safety Cove | In deep water about 100 yards from his ship | Brian Derry, a Naval Rating | Male | 22 | 16:30 | Multiple White Sharks | [248] | |
1975 | 30 July | Adventure Bay, Bruny Island | Scuba diving for abalone | Robert Slack | Male | 37 | Afternoon | Great White Shark | [249] | |
1982 | 28 February | South Cape Bay | Skindiving, but swimming on the surface | Geert Talen | Male | 32 | Body not recovered | Great White Shark | [250] | |
1993 | 5 June | Tenth Island | Scuba diving at seal colony | Therese Cartwright | Female | 35 | 10:55 | Great White Shark | [251] | |
2015 | 25 July | Lachlan Point, Maria Island | Scuba diving, collecting scallops | Damian Johnson | Male | 46 | Body not recovered - Attacked while surfacing as his daughter watched. | 7:00 | Great White Shark | [252] |
Year | Date | Area | Activity | Victim | Sex | Age | Injury | Time | Species | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1839 | 7 August | Sealer's Cove, Wilson's Promontory | Swimming from capsized whale boat | Captain Wishart of the whaler Wallaby | Male | 39 | '...two wounds made by a shark, one about the middle of the right thigh, and the other, rather above the calf of the left leg.' | [253] | ||
1849 | 19 September | Warrnambool | Swimming | a sailor from the schooner Brother | Male | [254] | ||||
1855 | 11 November | Melbourne | Swimming | Seaman from whaling brig Curlew | Male | [255] | ||||
1858 | 14 March | Hobson Bay | Bathing | Adolphe Bollander | Male | 22 | 15:00 | [256] | ||
1864 | Corio Bay, Port Phillip | Swimming | Mr. Warren, Jr. | Male | Presumed but shark involvement not confirmed | [257] | ||||
1876 | 6 February | Albert Park in Port Phillip Bay | Bathing | Peter Rooney | Male | 18 | Rescued by man on horseback, but died on the beach | [258] | ||
1877 | 28 January | Emerald Hill | Bathing | William Marks | Male | 30 | "The flesh on each leg, from the knee upwards, was entirely torn out, and there were bite marks of the two jaws of a large fish on one breast, and also on the back." | [259] | ||
1889 | 8 July | Port Phillip | Fell into the water | Male | [260] | |||||
1914 | 10 June | Sandringham | Bathing | Mr. Croxford | Male | 43 | Afternoon | [261] | ||
1916 | 3 April | Carrum | Clinging to overturned rowing boat | Monte Robinson & Andrew McNeill | Male | 17 | [262] | |||
1930 | 15 February | Middle Brighton, Port Phillip | Diving off pier & treading water | Norman Clark | Male | 18 | 16:30 | White Shark | [263] | |
1936 | Port Phillip Bay, Port Melbourne | Swimming | Male | [264] | ||||||
1936 | 1 December | Mordialloc | Fishing | Charles Frederick Swann, a returned soldier | Male | 46 | Swann's 2.4 m dinghy was found with 2' x 3' hole in its side & tooth fragments embedded in the planking | Grey Nurse Shark | [265] | |
1949 | 12 November | Port Phillip Bay | No details | John W. Smith | Male | [266] | ||||
1954 | 11 December | Point Lonsdale | Swimming | Lawrence David Burns | Male | 23 | 11:00 | [267] | ||
1956 | 4 March | Portsea Beach, near entrance to Port Phillip Bay | Swimming, attacked at surf carnival | John Patrick Wishart | Male | 26 | 16:45 | Unknown species, 3.7 metre shark. Witnesses say there may have been another shark nearby | [268] |
Year | Date | Area | Activity | Victim | Sex | Age | Injury | Time | Species | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
pre–1903 | Pearl diving | Ahmun | Male | [269] | ||||||
pre–1903 | Roebuck Bay | Diving | Male | [270] | ||||||
mid–1870s | Circa | Shark Bay | Sitting on gunwale of boat | Andrew Farmer | Male | [271] | ||||
1882 | 7 February (reported) | Pearl diving | Native diver | Male | Thigh bitten | [272] | ||||
1882 | 12 May (reported) | Pearl diving | Malay diver | Male | Torso bitten | [273] | ||||
1895 | 3 June (reported) | Barrow Passage, Barrow Island | Pearl diving | Japanese diver | Male | [274] | ||||
1896 | 1 November | Esperance | Boat swamped | Louis | Male | [275] | ||||
1896 | 29 November | Albany | Swimming | Davies | Male | [276] | ||||
1910 | 23 December (reported) | Fremantle | Shipwrecked pearling schooner | Theodore Anderson's captain & rest of crew taken by sharks | Male | [277] | ||||
1923 | 27 January | Swan River, Freshwater Bay, Claremont | Swimming | Charles Topsail Robertson | Male | 13 | Back of thigh bitten | [278] | ||
1923 | 23 November | Condon, 88 km NE of Port Hedland | Dry shelling | Selim and Dea Opre, Koepang Islanders | Male | Disappeared, partial remains of Selim was found, there was no trace of Dea Opre | [279] | |||
1925 | 22 November | Cottesloe Beach | Floating on his back | Simeon (Samuel) Ettelton | Male | 55 | Thigh & torso bitten, then shark charged rescue boat | 15:15 | 4 m [13'] female tiger shark | [280] |
1948 | 27 December | Lancelin Island | Swimming | Arthur Strahan | Male | 17 | Disappeared while swimming | His hand was found in a 2.4 m [8'] tiger shark caught 1/5/1949 | [281] | |
1967 | 19 August | Jurien Bay | Spearfishing, dived to pick up a float line | Robert Bartle | Male | 23 | "bitten in two" | 11:00 | Great White shark | [282] |
1993 | 21 November | A pearl farm in Roebuck Bay | Hookah diving | Richard Peter Bisley | Male | 27 | 15:15 | Tiger shark caught 6 days later with diver's remains in its gut | [283] | |
1995 | 11 September | Honeymoon Island, near Hopetoun | Abalone diving using Hookah (near calving whales) | David Alan Weir | Male | 29 | Head, shoulder and arm severed, remains recovered at Munglinup Beach on 9/13/1995 | 15:00 | Great White Shark | [284] |
1997 | 20 January | Geraldton | Windsurfing | Werner Schonhofer | Male | 41 | Presumed, body not recovered, shark mutilated wetsuit & harness recovered | 18:00 | 4.5 m [14 ft 9 in] tiger shark | [285] [286] |
2000 | 6 November | Cottesloe Beach, Perth | Swimming | Ken Crew | Male | 49 | Torso attacked leg torn off. | 06:30 | Great White Shark | [287] |
2004 | 10 July | Lefthanders Beach, Margaret River | Surfing | Bradley Adrian Smith | Male | 30 | Stomach and legs attacked | 14:10 | Two Great White Sharks | [288] |
2005 | 19 March | Wreck Point, Abrolhos Islands | Snorkeling | Geoffrey Brazier | Male | 26 | 14:00 | Great White Shark | [289] | |
2008 | 27 December | Port Kennedy Beach | Snorkeling | Brian Guest | Male | 51 | 07:00 | Great White Shark | [290] | |
2010 | 17 August | Cowaramup Bay | Surfing | Nicholas Edwards | Male | 31 | Leg severed | 08:05 | Great White Shark | [291] |
2011 | 4 September | Bunker Bay | Body boarding | Kyle James Burden | Male | 21 | Eaten in half | 13:26 | Great White Shark | [292] |
2011 | 9 October | Cottesloe Beach | Swimming | Bryn Martin | Male | 64 | Believed to have been eaten whole, only remains found were shredded speedos | 08:10 | Great White Shark | [293] |
2011 | 22 October | Rottnest Island | Diving | George Wainwright | Male | 32 | 13:25 | Great White Shark | [294] | |
2012 | 31 March | Stratham Beach, Geographe Bay | Scuba diving | Peter Kurmann | Male | 33 | 09:30 | Great White Shark | [295] | |
2012 | 14 July | Off Wedge Island | Surfing | Ben Linden | Male | 24 | Eaten whole. Shark attacked jet ski trying to retrieve Ben's body. | 09:05 | Great White Shark | [296] |
2013 | 23 November | Gracetown | Surfing | Chris Boyd | Male | 35 | Left arm severed, flesh off the right leg. | 09:00 | Great White Shark | [297] |
2014 | 30 December | Cheynes Beach, near Albany | Spearfishing | Jay Muscat | Male | 17 | Attacked at the leg-torso | Midday | Great White Shark | [298] |
2016 | 31 May | Falcon Beach, Mandurah | Surfing | Ben Gerring | Male | 29 | Leg torn off. Died days later. | Dusk | Great White Shark | [299] |
2016 | 5 June | Between One and Three Mile reefs, Mindarie | Diving | Doreen Collyer [300] | Female | 60 | Mauled to death. | Late morning | Great White Shark | [301] |
2017 | 17 April | Kelp beds, Wylie Bay, Esperance | Surfing | Laeticia Maree Brouwer [302] | Female | 17 | Leg torn off in front of father, mother and 2 sisters. Died at the scene. | 16:00 | Great White Shark | [303] |
2020 | 5 January | Cull Island, Esperance | Diving | Gary Johnson [304] | Male | 57 | Mauled while scuba diving | 13:00 | Great White Shark | [305] |
2020 | 9 October | Kelp beds, Wylie Bay, Esperance | Surfing | Andrew Sharpe | Male | 52 | Attacked whilst surfing, body never found, witnesses and damage to surfboard confirmed shark attack | 16:00 | Great White Shark | [306] [307] |
2020 | 22 November | Cable Beach, near Broome | Bodyboarding | Charles Cernobori | Male | 55 | Bitten on thigh and severed hand | 08:45 | Tiger Shark | [308] [309] |
2021 | 6 November | Port Beach, Fremantle | Swimming | Paul Millachip | Male | 57 | Separated in two and consumed | 10:00 | Great White Shark | [310] |
2023 | 4 February | Swan River, North Fremantle | Swimming | Stella Berry | Female | 16 | Injury to legs | 15:00 | Bull Shark suspected | [311] [312] |
A shark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year, around 80 unprovoked attacks are reported worldwide. Despite their rarity, many people fear shark attacks after occasional serial attacks, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, and horror fiction and films such as the Jaws series. Out of more than 500 shark species, only three of them are responsible for a double-digit number of fatal, unprovoked attacks on humans: the great white, tiger, and bull. The oceanic whitetip has probably killed many more shipwreck and plane crash survivors, but these are not recorded in the statistics. Humans are not part of a shark's normal diet. Sharks usually feed on small fish and invertebrates, seals, sea lions, and other marine mammals. A shark attack will usually occur if the shark feels curious or confused.
Taronga Zoo is a government-run public zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning "beautiful view".
A shark net is a submerged section of gillnets placed at beaches designed to intercept large marine animals including sharks, with the aim to reduce the likelihood of shark attacks on swimmers. Shark nets used are gillnets which is a wall of netting that hangs in the water and captures the marine animals by entanglement, however only around 10% of catch is the intended target shark species. The nets in Queensland, Australia, are typically 186m long, set at a depth of 6m, have a mesh size of 500mm and are designed to catch sharks longer than 2m in length. The nets in New South Wales, Australia, are typically 150m long, set on the sea floor, extending approximately 6m up the water column, are designed to catch sharks longer than 2m in length. Shark nets do not create an exclusion zone between sharks and humans, and are not to be confused with shark barriers.
Shark cage diving is underwater diving or snorkeling where the observer remains inside a protective cage designed to prevent sharks from making contact with the divers. Shark cage diving is used for scientific observation, underwater cinematography, and as a tourist activity. Sharks may be attracted to the vicinity of the cage by the use of bait, in a procedure known as chumming, which has attracted some controversy as it is claimed to potentially alter the natural behaviour of sharks in the vicinity of swimmers.
Greenmount Beach is a beach located in Coolangatta on Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia.
Gracetown is a small town in Western Australia. It is located 269 kilometres (167 mi) south of the Perth central business district, and 21.5 kilometres (13.4 mi) north-west of the township of Margaret River in the Augusta-Margaret River Shire Council area on the coast at Cowaramup Bay.
Michael Eugene Fanning is an Australian professional surfer who was crowned champion of the Association of Surfing Professionals/World Surf League (ASP/WSL)'s World Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he survived a shark attack by what is suspected to be a great white shark during the J-Bay Open finals in Jeffreys Bay.
A man-eater is an individual animal or being that preys on humans as a pattern of hunting behavior. This does not include the scavenging of corpses, a single attack born of opportunity or desperate hunger, or the incidental eating of a human that the animal has killed in self-defense. However, all three cases may habituate an animal to eating human flesh or to attacking humans, and may foster the development of man-eating behavior.
A drum line is an unmanned aquatic trap used to lure and capture large sharks using baited hooks. They are typically deployed near popular swimming beaches with the intention of reducing the number of sharks in the vicinity and therefore the probability of shark attack. Drum lines are often used in association with shark nets, which results in shark mortality. However SMART drum lines can be used to move sharks, which greatly reduces shark and bycatch mortality. The use of drum lines has been successful in reducing shark attacks in the areas where they are installed. The topic of shark culling became an international controversy and sparked public demonstrations and vocal opposition, particularly from environmentalists, animal welfare advocates and ocean activists.
The Australian Shark-Incident Database has recorded that between 1791 and April 2018 there were 1,068 shark attacks in Australia with 237 of them being fatal.
Wildlife attacks in Australia occur every year from several different native species, including snakes, spiders, freshwater and saltwater crocodiles, various sharks, cassowaries, kangaroos, stingrays and stonefish and a variety of smaller marine creatures such as bluebottles, blue-ringed octopus, cone shells and jellyfish.
The Western Australian shark cull is the common term for a former state government policy of capturing and killing large sharks in the vicinity of swimming beaches by use of baited drum lines. The policy was implemented in 2014 to protect human swimmers from shark attack following the deaths of seven people on the Western Australian coastline in the years 2010 to 2013. National public demonstrations opposing the policy attracted international attention to the issue. In September 2014 the seasonal setting of drum lines was abandoned following a recommendation made by the Western Australian Environment Protection Authority. From December 2014 to March 2017, the special deployment of drum lines was permitted in cases where sharks were deemed to present a serious threat to public safety. This policy allowed the government of Western Australia to kill "high-hazard" sharks it found to be a threat to humans; the policy was criticized by senator Rachel Siewart for damaging the environment. In March 2017 the use of drum lines was abandoned by the newly elected West Australian state government. In August 2018 following continual shark attacks the West Australian state government reversed their position and announced a 12-month trial of "SMART" drumlines along Western Australia's South West coast, near Gracetown.
A total of 24 people have been killed by sharks in South Australian waters since the establishment of the colony in 1836. Prior to 2014, there had been 82 recorded shark attacks in South Australia. 20 of those have involved a single fatality. Victims were involved in a range of aquatic activities, including surfing, diving, spear-fishing, snorkeling, boating and swimming. Six of the fatalities occurred off the coast of greater metropolitan Adelaide, with the remainder distributed across South Australia's extensive coastline. Many of the fatal attacks have been attributed to great white sharks.
A shark barrier is seabed-to-surface protective barrier that is placed around a beach to protect people from shark attacks. Often confused with shark nets, shark barriers form a fully enclosed swimming area that prevents sharks from entering. Shark barrier design has evolved from rudimentary fencing materials to netted structures held in place with buoys and anchors. Recent designs have used plastics to increase strength, versatility and to reduce the environmental damage of bycatch.
There are a range of shark attack prevention techniques employed to reduce the risk of shark attack and keep people safe. They include removing sharks by various fishing methods, separating people and sharks, as well as observation, education and various technology-based solutions.
Shark culling is the deliberate killing of sharks by government authorities, usually in response to one or more shark attacks. The term "shark control" is often used by governments when referring to culls. Shark culling has been criticized by environmentalists, conservationists and animal welfare advocates—they say killing sharks harms the marine ecosystem and is unethical. Government officials often cite public safety as a reason for culling. The impact of culling is also minor compared to bycatch with 50 million sharks caught each year by the commercial fishing industry.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)