Actually statistically if you are worried about sharks, I would simply be terrified about going out in the storm since you have more chance of being struck down dead by lightning. Of course, dont go near a road since you have about a x1000 times the chance of being killed in a road related death.

The reality is that shark attacks are extremely rare and occur usually as a matter of mistaken identity (the shark considers the surfer a seal - its natural prey in some species), working the sharks up to frenzy (baiting, filming or group tours) or simply blind stupidity on the part of a diver (trying to touch the sharks...). Sharks have a very bad rep which is ill deserved and many species have been driven by man to the point of extinction.

I have over the years had the privilige of filming and studying sharks and even hitting one to discourage it a bit with a video housing(!). I hate it when an incident happens with a shark, not only a very sad occassion for the victim and the family, but these stories make headlines which effect peoples perception of such an amazing animal.

When put into perspective compared to the land environment the sea is a very safe place to be

Whenever someone is killed by a shark in OZ someone always starts a thread about it on this forum. Around 3 people are killed by sharks each year compared to 1,600 on the roads and 600 drowning, but no one ever starts a thread about the dangers of roads or the danger of drowning in OZ.

Couldn't have put it better myself and you saved me the trouble. When you all get out here you will be taking your lives in your hands everyday cos they cant drive for toffee over here. It's not uncommon for there to be a road death everyday around Melbourne and a majority are Car v Tree/Pole or to put it another way Complete tosser driving like a dickhead eventually comes to a stop after the inevitable.

Andy

Coxfam, sorry to tell you, but great whites live predominantly in the southern waters of Australia, they like the cold water. Most of the sharks in the warmer waters (with exception of bull sharks, which mainly live in canals & waterways & feed between dawn & dusk) arent considered to be "man eaters". Tigers & Grey Nurse are really the only 2 others that are considered dangerous to man, but not to the same degree as Great Whites. Thats why there are more people taken in SA, Vic etc than in Qld (especially when compared to the number of people in the water ) .

Up here in Qld you have to worry about the crocodiles .

PS. Hi Andy, nice to see you posting, havent seen you for a while .

Damn, I guessed that might be the case!! Well, no harm in hoping, I guess. When was the last time anyone was taken in Victoria then? And to think I was swimming with seals in december - aren;t they a delicacy for great whites? :scared:

Ahhh just dont tell her, what she dosnt know wont hurt her .

Seriously as everyone else has said, you are at a far greater risk of being run over by a bus or killed in a car accident or even drowning than you ever are being taken by a shark. When at the beach, swim between the flags & always on patrolled beaches & you lessen the extremely small risk even more considerably .

So, do you feel the same whay when a smoker dies of lung cancer or when someone falls of a horse?

:scared: STOP! my daughter fell off 4 times last night and has her heats for the state interschool finals tomorrow When HUP said she should stop cos its dangerous, she says "oh Dad is a sport, you get that!" Cotton wool anyone

Sorry Renth, not quite sure where you are coming from....

If you mean.....is it a smokers fault if they die of lung cancer, then yes....i believe it is. Its largely unlucky true, but they would have probably not got the luncg cancer if they had not smoked.

Horse riding....again, you can't fall off a horse if you are not on one.

Shark attacks.....you can't get attacked if you are not in the sea.

You could definatly put all these down to bad luck, for sure. However, it is the situation these people put themselves in to make themselves suseptable.

I dive for crays and abalone (well....for these 2 i snorkle), and i am fully aware of the risk. For what its worth the risk is very small, but its only a risk when im actually in the water. I don't "need" to be there.

"The United Kingdom has a good record for road safety compared with most other EU countries. In 2001 it had the lowest road death rate in the EU, at 6.1 per 100,000 population. The highest road death rate in the EU was in Portugal, at 21.0 per 100,000 population (in 2000). The UK rate was also substantially lower than those for other industrialised nations such as Japan (7.9 per 100,000 population), Australia (9.0) and the United States (14.8)."

Road deaths: EU comparison, 2001: Social Trends 34

Not a lot of difference in the 2001 rate 6.1 : 9.0 UK : Aus. Australia is on par with Germany. Similar ratio per km:

It's the "He's only got himself to blame" bit which I failed to quote which I don't get.

In case it's of interest, the Australian rate has now dropped to 7.94 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2004.

I have every sympathy for the families and friends of shark victims, so dont take this the wrong way, but if you are swimming 3k out from the shore in the exact place someone was eaten in December 2004, then surely you are tempting fate to say the very least.

We have been here 15 months, and in that time 5 people have been eaten by sharks, needless to say none of them have been close to the shore, I swim in the sea, but I wouldnt dream of swimming more than 15 metres or so from the beach.

Maybe he thought he had more chance of being run over by a bus

Seriously common sense would wipe out half these accidents, see a crocs feed here dont swim sign, I dont care how bloody hot it is you would not get me in there, but people do it :scared:

Drownings, OK all the beaches that are patrolled are packed out, sardines in a tin in summer but still you see idiots on beaches the locals know have rips and the signs are up. All the hotels on the gold coast even have warning cards in the rooms, in several languages, people must ignore them. All my lot are strong surfers, not one of them would go in at some beaches we see tourists swimming in.

Even car accidents, how many have speed or booze or drugs as a contributing factor. I see tho they are bringin in drag racing laws in qld, license suspended for 6 months, should make fri and sat nights a bit quieter.