Record Breaking Fatalities
As of November 22, when a man was attacked while body surfing at Cable Beach in Western Australia, the yearly fatal shark attacks have reached a total of eight people. In recent decades, the yearly average for fatal shark attacks was one. This year’s fatalities has been the highest since 1929, when nine deaths were reported. In the 1930’s, preventative measures were put in place and death rates have not reached these highs since- until now.
Scientists Speculate: Bad Luck Theory
While such a drastic increase in fatalities is uncommon, scientists speculate that the unusual occurrences is simply a result of bad luck. Dr. Phoebe Meagher, who manages the Australian Shark Attack File (a record of encounters between humans and sharks) said that the overall rate of encounters, which has remained consistent at 20 per year, suggests that the increase in fatalities is not the result of an underlying event. She speculates that ““There may be nothing crazy at play here, the fact that incidents result in fatalities — it’s probably just really bad luck.”
Climate Change
Another possible cause, climate change. Marine biology professor Culm Brown, suspects that the ocean’s rising temperatures could be causing sharks to venture into cooler areas at the same time large numbers of people head to the beaches. Other scientists have also proposed that shifting ocean temperatures as a result of La Niña weather patterns could be changing the shark’s hunting grounds, forcing them to travel to more populated areas such as beaches. Nathan Hart, a professor of biological sciences recently concluded after a study of a century of shark file data and weather records, that an increase in rainfall significantly increases the risk of a shark attack. As the rain flushes nutrients into the sea, creating an area of cooler water along the coast. Creating an abundance of prey such as fish, sharks are more likely to venture closer to land.
Protective and Preventive Measures
As attacks become more common, state governments have been partitioning larger sums towards protection measures such as shark nets, drones to track shark movement from the air, and traps. However, many of these protection methods have shown little to no success in the past. The recent fatalities have also resparked a discussion in regard to culling (selective slaughter) the sharks but animal rights activists have described the practice as “inhumane”. They have also spoken out against nets placed around beaches have they have been known to accidentally trap, and kill thousands of other marine species such as stingrays and turtles.
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