Australia's latest horrific shark death has underlined an emerging reputation as the worst country on earth for fatal attacks, as experts say warm waters and a surge in the number of great whites is fuelling the incidents.
When a swimmer was killed by a suspected great white shark at Little Bay, Sydney, the first such death in Australia's biggest city for 59 years, it was the sixth shark attack in Australia in barely six weeks of 2022.
That number of shark attacks in 2022 is already far ahead of any other country this year, as well as being half of the total number of shark attacks in Australia in 2021.
Experts point to several reasons, including more people in the surf to warmer ocean currents changing the habits of sharks' prey.
But some of the latest thinking is a recovery in the population of our most feared apex predator - the great white shark.
Australia's latest horrific shark death underlined an emerging reputation as the worst country on earth for shark attacks
In 2017, 17-year-old Laeticia Brouwer died being mauled by a great white shark while surfing with her father, Leon
The rising number of shark attacks has several factors driving it, but the re-emergence of the great white shark is believed to be a major factor
Australia's six shark attacks in 2022 is already way ahead of any other country this year, and half of the total number of shark attacks in Australia in 2021
In 2020, the CSIRO estimated there could be up to 12,802 great white sharks - including juveniles - active around eastern Australia.
The numbers around Western Australia are estimated to be much lower, at around 2,250.
That number is likely to have climbed since.
But your risk of being bitten by a shark in a year is less than one in a million, far less than the risk of drowning when you swim with no sharks involved.
But even that's not much comfort when a bloody fatal shark attack happens at a well-known beach, and comes just days after another horror attack.
The deadly scenes at Little Bay in Sydney came 10 days after a young woman survived an attack by a 3.3 metre monster in Western Australia.
Jacquelin Morley, 20, was floating in a pool ring at Kelp beds beach at Wylie Bay near Esperance on February 6 when she was bitten on the torso.
In 2017, 17-year-old Laeticia Brouwer died after being mauled by a great white shark while surfing with her father, Leon, in the same area.
In October 2020, father-of-two Andrew Sharpe went missing at Kelp Beds after witnesses saw him 'flung' from his surfboard by a huge four-metre-long shark.
Mr Sharp had been surfing with friends at the Kelp Beds break on October 9 when he was knocked from his board and flung into the air by a shark.
Police called off the search for Mr Sharpe after two days.
There were six shark attacks recorded in Western Australia in 2021, including one fatality. The previous year there were seven attacks, with three people losing their lives.
Last year there were 12 shark attacks across all of Australia and three were fatal.
When a swimmer was killed by a suspected great white shark at Little Bay, Sydney, the first such death in Australia's biggest city for 59 years, it was the sixth shark attack in Australia in barely six weeks of 2022 (pictured, police at the scene)
Esperance, Western Australia, where young Jacquelin Morley was lucky to escape with her life after a shark attack earlier this month
Jacquelin Morley, 20, (pictured) was enjoying an afternoon dip with friends at Kelp Beds Beach in Wylie Bay near Esperance, on Western Australia's south coast, on Sunday afternoon when she was attacked
The three men who died were Timothy Thompson, a 31 year old father at Coffs Harbour; Paul Millichip at North Fremantle and another father Mark Sanguinetti, 59, at Tuncurry.
The death at Little Bay was the second fatality in the world this year, after Victor Estrellos, 56, died after being bitten while diving in Mexico.
Overall shark attacks were on the rise in 2021 after people spent the last few years away from beaches during the pandemic.
In 2021 there were 73 unprovoked shark attacks worldwide compared to 52 in 2020.
The most common activity of shark attack victims was surfing or board sports (51 per cent), while 39 per cent were swimming or wading.
'As more people have flocked to warm beaches, encounters with sharks have become more common,' said a statement
