A researcher at the University of Sydney, Christopher Neff, says the time has come to drop the term “shark attack” as it’s sensationalist and misleading.
Mr Neff, who is doing a PhD on the politics of ”shark bite incidents” says the shark incidents are more like bites and are done out of self-defense for the shark or curiosity rather than an all out attack.
”Swimmers are in the way, not on the menu,” Mr Neff told The Age. ”There is no evidence that any shark species develops a taste for human flesh.”
However, Mr Neff doesn’t play down the seriousness of an encounter with sharks, he says that we need to educate ourselves on what is happening as common misconceptions can lead to ineffective political decisions relating to the sea predators. Mr Neff said it was important to educate people on where to swim and when.
This advice comes after the sighting of large sharks off the New South Wales Central Coast. Two four-metre sharks were spotted near the shore at Copacabana beach. Sharks were seen this week at nearby beaches of Avoca and at Terrigal.
”The public is unable to tell scratches from fatalities, boats from people, or wobbegongs from great whites.,” Mr Neff said.
Nearly 13 per cent of said shark attacks in New South Wales are caused by wobbegongs, bottom-dwelling sharks found on the sea floor, and Mr Neff said most of these incidents are caused by swimmers “stepping on it or pestering it”.