A shark attack in Sydney Australia, which claimed the life of a 35-year-old British man has once again put the spotlight on the conflict between human being and marine life.
On Wednesday, a swimmer was killed in the first fatal shark attack in 60 years close to Sydney, leading to the closure of beaches in the Australian city.
The tragedy has shocked many and questions are being asked as to how the shark slipped through the protections set up.
Here’s what happened and past instances of such attacks.
Sydney’s shark attack
BBC identified the shark victim to be Simon Nellist, an experienced diving instructor.
The British expatriate, who it is understood was living in the Wolli Creek area of Sydney, was reportedly training for a charity swim.
According to eyewitnesses, Nellist was attacked from below at Little Bay. Emergency services were called about 4.35 pm local time on Wednesday.
One witness, Kris Linto, said the swimmer was in the water when the shark “came and attacked him vertically”. He told Nine News TV: “We heard a yell and then turned around. It looked like a car just landed in the water. Big splash.”
The attack happened about 150 metres from the beach, which has now been sealed off.
Another recounted how he had been fishing on the rocks when he saw the swimmer get dragged under.
"It was terrible. I am shaking. I keep vomiting. It's very, very upsetting," he told ABC News.
Authorities managed to retrieve body parts from the water two hours after the attack.
The state government said its shark experts had estimated the predator to be a great white shark "at least three metres" in length based on footage of the incident taken by a member of the public.
The attack has also left locals perturbed as they have protections set up to avoid such instances.
BBC has reported that Sydney beaches have been guarded by nets for nearly a century. On summer weekends, drones and helicopters hover, scanning for sharks.
The Sydney authorities also run a shark-tagging programme where the sharks are picked up in nets, tagged and then relocated a kilometre away.
Shark attacks in numbers
Contact between a human and a shark is rare.
According to data, Australia usually records about 20 shark attacks each year, with most in New South Wales and Western Australia.
According to the Australian Shark Attack File, there were two fatal shark attacks in 2021 and seven in 2020.
As per data provided by The International Shark Attack File, there were 73 unprovoked shark bites on humans and 39 provoked bites in 2021. The data also revealed that the United States recorded the most unprovoked shark bites in 2021, with 47 confirmed cases. This is 42 per cent higher than the 33 incidents that occurred in the US in 2020.
Australia’s total of 12 unprovoked incidents was lower than the most recent five-year annual average of 16 incidents for the region.
Brazil, New Zealand and South Africa all had three bites and one fatality each in 2021. New Caledonia reported two incidents, both of which were fatal. Single incidents occurred in Canada, Ecuador and St. Kitts and Nevis.
Why sharks attack humans?
Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, which maintains the International Shark Attack File, has explained to BBC that shark bites are strongly correlated to the number of people and number of sharks in the water at the same time. "The more sharks and people there are in one place, the greater the chance of them bumping into each other," he was quoted as saying.
One of the reasons for the shark attacks in the US and Australia is the rise in the number of seals along the coastlines — the favourite prey of great white sharks.
Scientists who study sharks say there is no real evidence that sharks are actively hunting humans.
Blake Chapman, a marine biologist who has studied shark sensory systems and has written a book on shark attacks on humans, pointed out that rising human populations along coastlines, the destruction of habitat, changing water quality, climate change and shifts in prey distribution are leading sharks to gather in greater numbers at certain hotspots around the world.
How to avoid shark attacks
Experts have come up with some tips to help people stay safe when in the water inhabited by sharks.
• Swim in groups
• Avoid swimming around dawn or dusk
• Steer clear of schools of fish, particularly if they are leaping out of the water.
• Avoid wearing jewellery as light reflecting off metal or a watch might look like a darting fish to a shark
• Avoid excess splashing, as sharks are drawn to the noise of injured animals
• Wearing dark clothing like a black wetsuit when diving can also help to reduce the chance of attracting a shark’s attention
With inputs from agencies
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from Sydney reports first fatal shark attack in 60 years: A look back at past instances and why they attack humans
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