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Articles on Sharks

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Don’t turn your back on a shark

Sharks are able to detect which way a human is facing and prefer to approach people from behind according to a new study…
A combination of government policy and personal responsibility will keep us safer from sharks than culls will. AAP Image/Rebecca Le May

How to prevent shark attacks

In light of the most recent shark bite fatality in Western Australia (WA) last week, there have been renewed calls for a cull of large sharks to protect ocean users. Environment minister Greg Hunt has…
Former NBA player Yao Ming is pictured on a billboard in China, endorsing an anti-shark fin campaign. Mike Fabinyi

Shark fin drops off the menu, conservationists claim victory

In recent times, China has witnessed a series of campaigns aimed at persuading people to stop eating shark fin soup. So it is encouraging that, over the past year, shark fin consumption appears to have…
Right on cue with gaping jaw and rows of teeth. Loren Javier

It’s silly season, but there is a real shark threat to fear

Each summer, for several years in a row, a tabloid would send me a picture of a shark fin photographed off Cornwall and ask if it was a Great White. “No,” I would patiently explain, “it is a harmless basking…
A shark in the hand: this Northern River Shark has been tagged in the attempt to collect more information on the species. Jeff Whitty

Australian endangered species: Northern River Shark

The Northern River Shark (Glyphis garricki) is one of the rarest species of shark in the world. It is known only from a small number of locations in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Papua…

Environmental factors affect sharks’ dive

The diving behaviour of sharks has been shown to be affected by the moon, water temperature and time of day. Research on…

Tracing patterns with great white sharks

Patterns in female great white shark migration patterns are becoming clearer, thanks to new research. California-based researchers…
The demand for shark fins has pushed threatened shark species from 15 in 1996 to 180 in 2010. Choo Yut Shing

Small win for big fish: convention moves to protect sharks

Each year around 100 million sharks are killed for their fins. The sharks are often pulled from the water, their fins are sliced off and they are thrown back in to drown. The industry is built on the high…
Pre-emptively emptying beaches when sharks are around can save lives, but there are other ways of preventing bites. Caroline Embrey

Shark bite prevention should be led by evidence, not politics

Things could not be harder for the beach-goers of Western Australia. Following the worst spate of shark-related fatalities ever recorded, it is summer once again. Shark sightings are up and there is always…
Shark fins are a delicacy in Asia, which can sometimes lead to unsustainable fishing practices. mario ruckh/Flickr

Shark protection developments have no bite

Whether it’s from fishing and by-catch, finning or even culling, global shark populations are under a growing threat from human activity. But how successful is international law at protecting some of the…
Public attitudes are shifting against government shark culling programs. Athel D'Ombrain Collection, University of Newcastle

The great shark debate: to cull or not to cull?

The great shark debate continues in Australia as summer approaches. Shark bites on bathers and surfers are a particularly sensitive reality. These are personal and community-wide tragedies that implore…
There are a lot of positives in the WA Government’s plan to keep beaches safe - but why cull sharks? platours/flickr

Does WA have a problem with sharks, or with the media?

The WA Premier Colin Barnett and Fisheries Minister Norman Moore recently announced the Government will allocate $6.85-million for its “shark mitigation” strategy, in response to the recent wave of sharks…
New research could help prevent negative encounters between “us” and “them”. Richard Ling

Red alert in the deep blue: sharks are probably colour-blind

We’ve known since early last year that sharks are most likely colour-blind. But today, in a paper published in Biology Letters by our team at UWA, we explain why this is the case. It’s a finding we believe…
There is no evidence that hunting and killing sharks reduces attacks on humans. US Fish and Wildlife Service

Who’s hunting who? Misguided responses to shark attacks

The most recent fatal encounter between a shark and a surfer off the coast of Western Australia is a tragic loss of human life. It prompted a Western Australian government reaction to “hunt and kill” the…

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