Sharks have always stoked panic in Australia. While scientific understanding grows, conservation efforts can be unseated by fear | Anna Clark

From Aboriginal rock art to colonial encounters, sharks have been a figure of fear and fascination throughout the long human history of this continent

Is there a more primal fear among beach-goers than the shark?

Although many more https://www.taronga.org.au/wildlife-and-conservation/the-institute/australian-shark-incident-database">Australians drown each year at the beach than are killed by these creatures, it’s sharks that inhabit the jagged edges of our collective consciousness.

After a https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/21/a-spate-of-shark-bites-has-australian-ocean-lovers-on-edge-people-want-to-know-why-theyre-rising">terrifying spate of bites earlier this year, https://theconversation.com/do-shark-culls-keep-people-safe-in-the-ocean-heres-what-the-science-says-285232">calls for shark culls resurfaced. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2026/jun/17/ocean-swimmer-australia-sharks-territory">Ocean swimming and surfing didn’t seem quite the same healthy pursuits they had just months earlier.