[Closed] shark attack

More cyclists have been killed on the roads of Australia in the last 2 years than sharks in the last 300.
More people are killed by Rip Tides each year than sharks.
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Makes news but is a very tiny risk.

Yep, true but the fear is visceral. I don't remember going in the sea and worrying about obesity or car accidents. My surfing buddy used to rib me for worrying about men in grey suits until his step-son was involved in a fatal shark attack.

Remember paddling out at Tallows beach (the other side of the headland at byron) and seeing about a 6ft shark cruising along a wave just before it broke.. I momentarily froze. Then looked at the 30 or so guys already in the water and just rationalised about a 1 in 30 chance of getting attacked even if there were to be one... Only have to be in the water with one other person and your chances are halved. Shark paranoia messes with you and its pretty irrational when you consider its way more dangerous actually driving to the beach.

It certainly has people paranoid about them. I must admit that I'm like a meerkat on the odd occasion that I do go down to the sea.

I don't agree with the drum baiting that's going on here in WA. If you don;t like the risks then don't go in. I've not heard of all bears/lynx's/(insert animal of choice here) being shot as there's a slight risk you'll get jumped on when walking or riding.

Only 3 people in 2013. Cull must be working then. 😆

Wasn't there a fish canning plant on the north shore that attracted sharks years back?
Swam there a lot but got scared after my friend told me how he sometimes bumped into sharks when surfing.

Makes news but is a very tiny risk.

That list of numbers doesn't demonstrate the risks though. The number of breast cancer deaths is 2900 out of the entire female population, thats the entire female population being female day and night, 365 days a year. The deaths through domestic violence only relate to people who are in violent relationships, although the death toll is low, those relationships are clearly very risky for the people who are actually in them, the shark related deaths is only two, but its two from only the people who go in the sea and those people are only at risk during the time they're in the sea - far less time than they'll spend behind the wheel I'd expect.

Thats not to say that culls and the like are an over reaction but that list does nothing help decide what a proportionate reaction should be.

It does.. It shows that your chance of being killed by a shark is very small and that indiscriminately culling is a stupid over reaction

And actually the easiest way to avoid getting killed by a shark is to not go flapping around in their habitat. If you're that worried, maybe don;t surf rather than culling the shark population?

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics"

Fasthaggis is right (and soon to be independent(probably)), properly disingenious those stats but saying that, culling Sharks is f****ng idiocy.

Are they advocating a cull of fat people?

or staff at McDonalds

You'll not find many surfers who think shark culling is a good idea, there is an acceptance of the inherent dangers of the sport.

You will find surfers who really don't like commercial operations chumming to attract sharks so people can go down in shark cages and get their jollies.

Are they advocating a cull of fat people?

That would be like culling people who are attacked by sharks

I think a more appropriate question is "are they advocating banning stuff that makes people fat"?

Having said that I'm not in favour of that - or culling sharks. It's their environment. Humans become potential shark food there.

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It does.. It shows that your chance of being killed by a shark is very small and that indiscriminately culling is a stupid over reaction

Mmm, I'm with maccruisken, it's not as clear cut as all that. I don't agree with a cull, nor do I think it's a huge risk. But... in a way that driving down a road the day after a fatal car accident doesn't increase the risk of dying. Going swimming the day after a fatal shark attack is perhaps a little misguided.

You'll not find many surfers who think shark culling is a good idea, there is an acceptance of the inherent dangers of the sport.

You will find surfers who really don't like commercial operations chumming to attract sharks so people can go down in shark cages and get their jollies.

Sorry, I missed the bit where surfers owned the sea? So they can get their 'jollies', but "really don't like" other people who do?

[i]That would be like culling people who are attacked by sharks[/i]

Duh yeah. I'm well fick me.
But I love sharks. Wouldn't go swimming with them though.

Sorry, I missed the bit where surfers owned the sea? So they can get their 'jollies', but "really don't like" other people who do?

But I love sharks. Wouldn't go swimming with them though.

Shark finning is the biggest problem... Disgusting, cruel and wasteful all for some fishy flavoured soup

Some fishy flavoured things are worth making an effort for.

njee20 - I was, in part answering a point made by atlaz.

The point about chumming is that there is an ongoing and unresolved question about whether it causes sharks to associated people with food - surfers or divers - and is a completely artificial interaction. Think it was banned in Western Australia, but that may well have been as much to do with the Govt needing to be seen to doing something and weighing the bad publicity of shark attacks against the loss of income from cage diving

http://digitalnomad.nationalgeographic.com/2013/11/21/why-i-wont-go-shark-cage-diving/

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa-ban-on-shark-cages/story-e6frg12c-1226419829214?nk=e133b9b8b297ff061236e3ebadc8985f

I'd rather take my chances with a shark than a croc! Pretty much guaranteed messy outcome.