{"id":555759,"date":"2026-06-26T19:34:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/555759\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T19:34:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:34:50","slug":"do-you-know-these-five-ways-to-reduce-the-risk-of-a-shark-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/555759\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you know these five ways to reduce the risk of a shark attack?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A recent shark mauling off Sydney’s famous Coogee Beach left a 35-year-old mother with life-threatening injuries and an amputated arm, renewing the greatest fear of many people who swim in open water.<\/p>\n

Although fatal shark attacks are rare, when they do occur they often make headlines – such as the death of a woman in California in December 2025 and a 12-year-old boy in Sydney in January 2026.<\/p>\n

The United States recorded the highest number of confirmed shark attacks in 2025, with 25 incidents, including one fatality, according to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF). Australia followed with 21 confirmed cases, five of which were fatal.<\/p>\n

Experts say most incidents occur under predictable conditions that can often be avoided. Understanding shark behaviour and following a few simple rules can significantly reduce your risk while swimming.<\/p>\n

1. Stay close to others and near shore<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sharks are more likely to target solitary individuals, experts say. Swim, surf or dive in groups whenever possible and avoid venturing too far from shore, where help may be difficult to reach.<\/p>\n

2. Avoid dawn, dusk and dark conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many shark species are most active during twilight and nighttime hours, when visibility is reduced and sharks have a sensory advantage.<\/p>\n

3. Be mindful of what attracts sharks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do not enter the water if you have an open wound. Avoid wearing shiny jewelry that can resemble fish scales, and steer clear of areas where fishing, baiting or fish-feeding activity is taking place. Excessive splashing, erratic movements and allowing pets into the water may attract unwanted attention.<\/p>\n

4. Swim in clear water<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Some sharks, like bull sharks, prefer to hunt in murky waters where they rely less on vision and more on their other senses,” say local officials in Queensland, Australia. Swimming in clear water will also allow you to see any threat.<\/p>\n

5. If a shark swims toward you, don’t turn your back<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never enter the water when sharks are known to be present. If a shark is seen nearby, calmly and quickly exit the water and alert others.<\/p>\n

If a shark swims toward you, stay calm and avoid splashing which only attracts them. “There is no point in swimming away, as the shark is much faster than you are,” says marine biologist and shark researcher Simon Weigmann. “This means you should keep your eyes fixed on the shark and try to maintain eye contact.”<\/p>\n

Some experts advise fighting back by targeting sensitive areas such as the eyes, gills or nose to create an opportunity to escape.<\/p>\n

Others say this is risky: “If I try to hit the shark on the nose, where many sensory cells are located, or the eyes, it can of course happen that the arm ends up in the mouth,” says Weigmann.<\/p>\n

If it’s a smaller shark, don’t touch it at all, as these tend to make only a quick bite when they feel too constricted.<\/p>\n

The three truly deadly sharks<\/strong><\/p>\n

The overwhelming majority of ocean visits end without incident, experts note. The number of people killed by sharks, though tragic, is dwarfed by the number of people who drown on beaches worldwide.<\/p>\n

There are over 500 species of shark in the world, and only about a dozen of these species pose a potential risk to humans who encounter them in the water, says Weigmann.<\/p>\n

“Essentially, only three species are responsible for fatal attacks: the great white shark, the tiger shark and the bull shark.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A “Beach closed, shark in water” sign is seen at Coogee beach after a shark attack left a woman in a critical condition. Nadir Kinani\/AAP\/dpa<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A warning sign near a popular Sydney beach. Sitthixay Ditthavong\/AAP\/dpa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A recent shark mauling off Sydney’s famous Coogee Beach left a 35-year-old mother with life-threatening injuries and an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[273],"tags":[85584,229365,18,39151,19,17,133,75617,237757,161588,461],"class_list":["post-555759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-bull-sharks","tag-coogee-beach","tag-eire","tag-great-white-shark","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science","tag-shark-attacks","tag-shark-behaviour","tag-shark-species","tag-wildlife"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116818092780631907","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}