The shark myth is dead: Analysis reveals Australia’s new deadly reality

For decades, Australians have taken comfort in the the age-old saying they are more likely to be killed by lightning than by a shark.

But new analysis by The West Australian shows that reassurance no longer stacks up.

Fatal shark attacks have outnumbered lightning strike deaths by four to one over the past decade, highlighting a dramatic shift in one of Australia’s most enduring beliefs.

DATA BEHIND INCREASE IN SHARK ATTACKS

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the the Australian Shark-Incident Database, six people were killed by lightning between 2015 and 2024. During that same period, 24 people were killed by shark attacks.

While the official ABS figures for 2025 and 2026 are yet to be released, there have only been two reported lightning deaths in this period, compared to eight fatal shark attack deaths.

Research by Bond University Associate Professor of Environmental Science Dr Daryl McPhee found Australia averaged fewer than one recorded fatal shark bite every two years between 1980 and 1999. That rose to just over two bites a year between 2000 and 2019, and more than five a year between 2020 and 2025.

Meanwhile, Risk Frontiers reports Australia has recorded an average of just one to two lightning fatalities annually since the mid-1990s.

The Australian Shark-Incident Database also points to a long-term increase, with 23 fatal shark attacks recorded between 2020 and 2025 alone, compared with 17 across the entire 1950s.

TRAGIC IMPACT OF SHARK ATTACKS ACROSS AUSTRALIA

This increase of shark bites is being felt across the country.

On Sunday, the New South Wales Government announced that 70 beaches will be monitored by drones from December through to to April, and committed an additional $34 million to its shark mitigation program following the mauling of Sydney mother Leah Stewart, who was attacked by a great white shark while swimming at Coogee.

Experts caution that Australia’s growing population and changing ocean use complicate any direct comparisions, but they say the trend cannot be ignored.

Few places have felt the devastating human cost of shark attacks more acutely than Western Australia.

On June 9, Shirene Mattaboni walked behind her husband Steve’s hearse carrying their four-month-old daughter after the 38-year-old was killed while spearfishing off Rottnest Island on May 16.

Just days earlier, another WA family was grieving after Daniel Turpin, 35, was killed after being attacked by a 4.5m shark while spearfishing off Albany.

DOES SPEARFISHING INCREASE CHANCE OF SHARK ATTACKS?

Whether spearfishing is simply a tragic coincidence linking the two most recent WA fatalities, or whether it reflects the inherent risks of a sport practised offshore and around shark prey, remains unclear.

However, Dr McPhee said the activity had the potential to increase the chance of an encounter because struggling fish could attract sharks.

“Most government interventions to minimise the risk of a shark bite have focused on surf beaches whereas spearfishers focus their activities on different habitats, such as reefs,” he said.

“The presence of a speared fish can act as a feeding stimulus for a shark.”

Australian Underwater Federation Spearfishing chair Arnold Piccoli rejected the notion that spearfishing is uniquely dangerous, arguing divers relied on a buddy system and specialist equipment to ensure safety.

Since 2000, there have been 23 fatal shark attacks in WA.

Surfers and bodyboarders accounted for nine of those deaths, swimmers for five, scuba divers for four and spearfishers for three — including the recent deaths of Mr Mattaboni and Mr Turpin.

“It’s probably why we’re at the bottom end of the categories,” Mr Piccoli said, while acknowledging people can and have died even “when you do everything right.”

Dr McPhee said prey for great white sharks had increased in coastal areas, which could explain why the ocean predators are spending more time closer to shore.

“The population of coastal food resources for white sharks including humpback whales, seals and sea lions and coastal fish such as Australian salmon have all increased,” he said.

“Whether that directly translates into sharks spending more time in coastal waters is plausible, but long-term information is lacking.”

Flinders University Professor Charlie Huveneers said there was no single explanation.

“We’ve recently done a review on the factors influencing shark bites and found 40 factors suggested to affect shark risk,” he said.

“Human population growth, habitat modification and destruction, declining water quality, climate change and anomalous weather patterns, and changes to the distribution and abundance of sharks and their prey are all often proposed to explain the recent increases in shark bites.”

WHAT ARE GOVERNMENTS DOING TO MAKE PEOPLE SAFE AT WA BEACHES

Despite the uncertainty, governments continue investing heavily in shark mitigation.

While Premier Roger Cook has ruled out drumlines and culls, WA is expanding its shark tagging program, aerial surveillance and warning systems.

The Town of Cambridge is installing 10 shark bite emergency kits at popular beaches at a cost of $10,000.

Surf Life Saving WA Aerial Surveillance Coordinator Tim Gleeson said the Westpac rescue helicopter was a “critically important” resource.

“Our threshold for sounding the helicopter alarm is a shark more than two metres in length within 500 metres of shore,” he said.

“We’ll sound our siren at the location of the shark and then fly for approximately one kilometre either side to warn people of the immediate threat.”

This season the helicopter recorded 711 shark sightings — compared with 675 in 2023-24 and 770 in 2024-25 — and warned almost 28,3000 people of nearby sharks, including more than 5500 who were cleared from the water.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development says its shark hazard mitigation strategy is among the nation’s most comprehensive but cautions that tagging data cannot be used to determine whether shark numbers are increasing.

CAN YOU REALLY BE SAFE FROM SHARKS IN THE OCEAN?

Beachgoers are urged to check the SharkSmart app, swim between the flags at patrolled beaches, stay close to shore and avoid schools of fish or areas where the seabed drops away sharply.

However, for all the helicopters, warning sirens, tagging programs and emergency kits now in place, experts say one reality remains unchanged — Australia’s oceans can be made safer, but they can never be made risk-free.