Surfers not worried about shark attacks
<p>The sight of a dorsal fin knifing through the waves might send many swimming for the shore, but a survey of surfers shows it won’t deter many from catching a wave.</p>
<p>A University of South Australia study published in Marine Policy reveals 44% of surfers say a shark sighting would not stop them from being in the water. While more than half of the 391 surfers surveyed had seen a shark while they out on the water, 60% were not afraid of the marine creatures.</p>
<p>The survey also revealed more surfers have been bitten by sharks than we think.</p>
<p>But the global survey of surfer attitudes towards sharks, undertaken by behavioural scientist Dr Brianna Le Busque, found surfers had generally positive views on these apex predators.</p>
<p>Le Busque told Cosmos, to date there has been very little research on surfers’ perceptions of and interactions with sharks.</p>
<p>“A lot of the shark policies, shark nets and things like that are implemented, in part to protect surfers. But there hasn’t really been a lot of research to actually ask them what they want,” she says.</p>
<p>Le Busque says the study may help to change people’s negative perceptions of sharks. This is important because fear of sharks can act as a barrier to conserving them.</p>
<p>“Shark conservation is important. As apex predators at the top of the food chain, if sharks become endangered or extinct this can have flow on effects for the entire ecosystem.”</p>
<p>Globally, 100 million sharks are killed each year with a quarter of shark species threatened by extinction.</p>
<p>But conserving sharks is complicated because they can harm humans, and many people fear them.</p>
<p>“When people are afraid of sharks, they don’t want sharks to be conserved … it’s also a driving motivation for having certain shark policies. So things like shark culls, shark nets, they are implemented because of people’s fears of sharks,” Le Busque says.</p>
<p>Le Busque says research indicates the public have a higher perception of risk when it comes to sharks, compared to the low likelihood of encountering one.</p>
<p>Surfers’ relaxed views on sharks contrasted with those of the wider public. </p>
<p>This was despite the survey finding quite a high share of surfers (17%) had been bitten, or knew someone who had been bitten by a shark. Le Busque says, this is quite a high percentage, higher than shark attack statistics suggest. </p>
<p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/surfer-shark-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Petra Stock.</strong></p>
<p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>
