Calls for Australian shark attacks to be labeled ‘bites’ or ‘negative encounters’

The days of Jaws, man-eating monsters and week-long Discovery Channel specials could be numbered after a decision to rename “shark attacks” to simply “shark bites.”

State government departments are urged to heed calls by scientists to change the words they use on shark incidents in Australia.

Environmentalists say the new language reflects more of what actually happens when swimmers or surfers encounter predators in the ocean.

Rather than hungry beasts in search of their next meal, sharks are generally harmless and often swim without being seen alongside humans without incident.

The days of Jaws, man-eating monsters and week-long Discovery Channel specials could be numbered after a decision to rename “shark attacks” to simply “shark bites.” (A great white shark is pictured here as a woman swims by)

Last week, drone footage revealed several sharks swimming near swimmers and surfers off Bondi without incident as they feasted on huge schools of baitfish.

In Australia so far this year, researchers say there have been 11 incidents involving sharks this year, including two involving the provoked shark and one death.

Worldwide, there were 47 incidents in 2021, four of which were caused, according to trackingsharks.com, resulting in six deaths.

But using language like “shark attack” and “man-eater” is misleading and can actually cause harm, scientists say.

Publicity around the incidents and emotional language can put pressure on politicians to order mass culls of potentially endangered species.

By changing the focus of a shark attack to a shark bite, they hope it will put the incidents in context about the difference between a dog bite and a dog attack.

“This helps dispel the inherent assumptions that sharks are voracious and stupid man-eating monsters,” said Dr Leonardo Guida, shark researcher at the Australian Marine Conservation Society. SMH.

Last week, drone footage revealed several sharks swimming near swimmers and surfers off Bondi without incident as they feasted on huge schools of baitfish. (We see here a young woman surfing)

Australian surfing champion Mick Fanning battled a shark on camera as he waited for a wave at a 2015 tournament in South Africa (pictured here)

He emerged from the water shaken but unharmed after hitting and kicking the shark as he closed in on him and bit the rope on his leg (pictured here)

A senior Queensland government official reportedly said at a Noosa shark symposium in May that the state would start using “bites” instead of “attacks”.

The states SharkSmart The website offers a series of tips for swimmers, surfers and snorkelers on how to “reduce the risk of a negative shark encounter”.

“I congratulated them on their change in terminology,” said Lawrence Chlebeck, marine activist for Humane Society International.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries said it had already started the transition after consulting with shark bite survivors at the Bite Club.

A spokesperson added: “NSW DPI respects that every incident is best described by the person involved.

“DPI generally refers to ‘incidents’ or ‘interactions’ in our official shark reports. “

Rather than hungry beasts in search of their next meal, sharks, like the one pictured here, are generally harmless and often swim without being seen alongside humans without incident.

In Australia so far this year, researchers say there have been 11 incidents involving sharks this year, including two involving the provoked shark and one death. Pictured is Mick Fanning with his surfboard

Australian surfing champion Mick Fanning battled a shark on camera as he waited for a wave at a 2015 tournament in South Africa.

He emerged from the water shaken but unharmed after punching and kicking the shark as it closed in on him and bit the rope on his leg.

“I just saw the fin – I didn’t see the teeth, I was waiting for the teeth to come to me while I was swimming. I hit him on the back, ”he said at the time.

“I saw it all struggle – I hit him a few times, but I felt like he was dragging me underwater.”

But environmentalists insist sharks are often just trying to figure out what something is by using their jaws to put the strange object in their mouths.

Unfortunately, the object sometimes turns out to be a surfer and his surfboard.

At this point, they say, sharks will frequently lose interest and simply swim away – although fatal damage may have been done first.

They insist that sharks rarely, if ever, launch a real unprovoked attack on humans, and more than a third of incidents involving sharks do not cause injury.