Several shark injuries have sparked a heated debate across Australia about how to manage the risk of shark attacks. (photo by Australian News Network)
There have been a number of recent shark injuries in Australia, and new data show where you are most likely to encounter sharks this summer.
Recent revelations of shark injuries have sparked heated debate across Australia about how to manage the risk of shark attacks, Australian News Network reported. On the one hand, environmentalists say the risk of shark injury is exaggerated and that killing is cruel and unnecessary. On the other hand, opponents are of the view that more measures should be taken to protect the safety of swimmers and surfers.
Dr. Melbourne's Christian (Daniel Christidis) was bitten by a shark in (Whitsundays), Queensland's Holy Spirit Islands, on Nov. 5, the third time in just six weeks that a shark has been injured. Kunzhou Fisheries Director (Mark Furner) warned tourists not to swim in the area, while local tourism workers shelled the authorities for more protective measures.
Australia has seen the world's highest death toll from shark attacks in the past 30 years, according to a new analysis released by consumer comparison website finder.com.au. Hassan (Bessie Hassan), an insurance expert on the site, said there had been 501 shark injuries in Australia over the past 30 years, killing 47 people.
In the same period, there were 146 shark injuries in New York, 86 in Kunzhou and 81 in Western Australia. The deadliest beach was the death of five people in North New York's Cape Lennox (Lennox Head), after being attacked by sharks.
Hassan said shark attacks were the most likely in waters off (Byron Bay) Bay in New York, where 27 shark injuries occurred over the past 30 years, killing three people. Across Australia, the death rate from shark attacks over the past 30 years has been 9%.
Chapman (Blake Champman), a researcher at (The University of Queensland) at the University of Queensland, says this is linked to the fact that Australians live closer to the beach-85 percent of Australians live less than 50 kilometers off the coast-and spend more time on the beach. And Australia is also the world's largest shark and ray species countries.
But she cautions that shark attacks are low-probability incidents and deaths are more rare.