Media coverage of sharks often exaggerates risks to people, but more than 500 shark species have never been known to attack humans, and there's lots to learn about them.
Scalloped hammerhead entangled in a Queensland shark control net at Magnetic Island, Townsville.
Courtesy of Nicole McLachlan
Some media have reported shark numbers at 'plague proportions' in Australian waters. But a new analysis suggests the opposite: species such as hammerheads and white sharks have plummeted in number.
How many shark encounters have there been at your local beach? Explore our interactive map to see 20 years of incidents between humans and sharks in coastal waters around Australia.
White sharks’ ability to stay warm in cold water makes them efficient long-range hunters.
Denice Askebrink
Fatal shark bites are very rare. But the stats do suggest that the likelihood of an attack proving fatal is higher in Australia - probably because our waters are home to the "big three" dangerous species.
Hey, what about us? Whale shark (spotted) and manta ray, a close shark relative.
Justin Henry
As the Discovery Channel and National Geographic Wild unleash a week of dueling shark programs, a biologist advises viewers to take what they see with a large grain of sea salt.
A shark’s nose is chemosensory only, and it doesn’t join up to the back of the throat like ours does.
Flickr/Leszek Leszczynski
Shark nets are controversial, which is why the New South Wales government is investigating a host of other ways to keep humans and sharks apart – some more tried and tested than others.
Mako sharks look fearsome, but they eat fish not people.
Alessandro De Maddalena / shutterstock
If you do see a shark this summer, don't panic – you just got lucky.
Monitoring white sharks more closely could help to ensure better conservation measures are put in place.
Dr Sara Andreotti (c) www.sharkdivingunlimited.com
South Africa’s white shark population faced a rapid decline in the last generation. More concerning is that their numbers might already be too low to ensure their survival.
An electric field could help avoid getting any closer than this.
Sharkdiver.com/Wikimedia Commons
The best way to guard against shark attacks is to study them, not kill them. Because while the alleged "shark boom" almost certainly not real, the more we know about sharks, the better.
Choosing to swim or surf at a beach with shark spotters or lifeguards may save you a limb or your life.
Glencairn Leigh de Necker
Alison Kock, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
Despite low shark attack numbers, many people are afraid of being bitten. There are, however, ways to steer clear of these creatures.
Great white sharks in South Africa have extremely low genetic diversity compared with shark populations elsewhere in the world.
Sara Andreotti/www.sharkdivingunlimited.com
More research may not necessarily prove to be the answer to shark attacks. Instead, we should look at programs that are already working, such as aerial patrols.
A greynurse shark complete with a tracking device - scientifically the best way to keep tabs on what sharks are up to.
AAP Image/NSW Ministery for Agriculture and Fisheries
Calls are growing louder for a shark cull in New South Wales. But like in Western Australia, which infamously experimented with culling last year, a NSW cull would harm sharks while failing to protect people.
Where there are groups of seals, there are sharks.
Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environment
A rash of white shark attacks this summer points to a rebounding population in the US – a sign of healthier oceans and the need to coexist with this apex predator.
The moment a shark encounters Australian champion surfer Mick Fanning.
AAP Image/World Surf League, Kirstin Scholtz
Although frightening, the footage of Mick Fanning at Jeffreys Bay is a reminder that sharks are present in the oceans, and that the vast majority of interactions between people and sharks end without fatality or injury.
Western Australia has killed two great white sharks after a surfer was seriously injured last week.
Sharkdiver.com/Wikimedia Commons
When I used to tell people that I did my PhD on the politics of shark attacks, they would ask, “Is there a politics to shark attacks?” Nobody asks that any more. Now they just say, “Oh, like in Western…
Marine Biologist, South African National Parks (SANParks); Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity