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Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World

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A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (24 April 2023) | Viewed by 25195

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Dr. Daryl McPhee

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Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Robina, QLD 4228, Australia
Interests: marine science; human-shark interactions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The intrinsic importance of sharks as well as the important role they play in the structure and function of marine ecosystems is established. A small number of shark species are responsible for unprovoked bites on water users that can lead to human fatalities. This includes species such as the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias)—a globally listed threatened species. Human–wildlife conflict is a growing obstacle to conservation goals. While the number of unprovoked bites remains low in absolute terms, when a bite occurs, it attracts substantial media and public focus. Mitigating human–shark interactions in ways that reduce the number of human fatalities and serious injuries while maintaining or recovering shark populations is a key issue requiring continued attention and new approaches.

In this Special Issue, it is proposed to further the understanding of factors that are driving trends in unprovoked shark bites and approaches that can mitigate the risk of a bite occurring. Contributions are sought on research that: a) assesses population trends in dangerous shark species (white sharks, tiger sharks and bull sharks) and aspects of their biology and behaviour which may influence the probability of unprovoked shark bites; b) assesses regional or global trends in unprovoked shark bites and interprets the risk of a bite occurring in a broader context; c) develops or trials methods that mitigate the likelihood or consequence of a bite occurring; d) assesses the impacts of mitigation measures on marine fauna and marine ecosystems; or e) describes educational activities or undertakes media content analysis focused on the effectiveness in communicating human safety and the conservation status of shark species.

This Special Issue will have high visibility and impact among government agencies, academic enterprises and the public sector in regions where sharks occur and where unprovoked shark bites are significant issues. It has the potential to expand on the emerging literature base and provide a focal point for contemporary thinking and research on a critical matter for human safety and shark conservation.

Dr. Daryl McPhee
Guest Editor

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Keywords

unprovoked shark bite
white shark
bull shark
tiger shark
shark bite mitigation
education
water safety
human dimensions

Published Papers (10 papers)

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17 pages, 2061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Capture Response and Long-Term Fate of White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) after Release from SMART Drumlines

by Paul A. Butcher, Kate A. Lee, Craig P. Brand, Christopher R. Gallen, Marcel Green, Amy F. Smoothey and Victor M. Peddemors

Biology 2023, 12(10), 1329; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12101329 - 12 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2243

Abstract

Human-shark conflict has been managed through catch-and-kill policies in most parts of the world. More recently, there has been a greater demand for shark bite mitigation measures to improve protection for water users whilst minimizing harm to non-target and target species, particularly White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), given their status as a Threatened, Endangered, or Protected (TEP) species. A new non-lethal shark bite mitigation method, known as the Shark-Management-Alert-in-Real-Time (SMART) drumline, alerts responders when an animal takes the bait and thereby provides an opportunity for rapid response to the catch and potentially to relocate, tag, and release sharks. Thirty-six White Sharks were caught on SMART drumlines in New South Wales, Australia, and tagged with dorsal fin-mounted satellite-linked radio transmitters (SLRTs) and acoustic tags before release. Thirty-one sharks were located within 10 days, 22 of which provided high-quality locations (classes 1 to 3) suitable for analysis. Twenty-seven percent and 59% of these sharks were first detected within 10 and 50 h of release, respectively. For the first three days post-release, sharks moved and mostly remained offshore (>3.5 km from the coast), irrespective of shark sex and length. Thereafter, tagged sharks progressively moved inshore; however, 77% remained more than 1.9 km off the coast and an average of 5 km away from the tagging location, 10 days post-release. Sharks were acoustically detected for an average of 591 days post-release (ranging from 45 to 1075 days). Although five of the 36 sharks were not detected on acoustic receivers, SLRT detections for these five sharks ranged between 43 and 639 days post-release, indicating zero mortality associated with capture. These results highlight the suitability of SMART drumlines as a potential non-lethal shark bite mitigation tool for TEP species such as White Sharks, as they initially move away from the capture site, and thereby this bather protection tool diminishes the immediate risk of shark interactions at that site. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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17 pages, 1294 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) Occurrence along Beaches of South-Eastern Australia: Understanding Where, When and Why

by Amy F. Smoothey, Yuri Niella, Craig Brand, Victor M. Peddemors and Paul A. Butcher

Biology 2023, 12(9), 1189; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12091189 - 31 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2593

Abstract

Unprovoked shark bites have increased over the last three decades, yet they are still relatively rare. Bull sharks are globally distributed throughout rivers, estuaries, nearshore areas and continental shelf waters, and are capable of making long distance movements between tropical and temperate regions. As this species is implicated in shark bites throughout their range, knowledge of the environmental drivers of bull shark movements are important for better predicting the likelihood of their occurrence at ocean beaches and potentially assist in reducing shark bites. Using the largest dataset of acoustically tagged bull sharks in the world, we examined the spatial ecology of 233 juvenile and large (including sub-adult and adult) bull sharks acoustically tagged and monitored over a 5.5-year period (2017–2023) using an array of real-time acoustic listening stations off 21 beaches along the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Bull sharks were detected more in coastal areas of northern NSW (<32° S) but they travelled southwards during the austral summer and autumn. Juveniles were not detected on shark listening stations until they reached 157 cm and stayed north of 31.98° S (Old Bar). Intra-specific diel patterns of occurrence were observed, with juveniles exhibiting higher nearshore presence between 20:00 and 03:00, whilst the presence of large sharks was greatest from midday through to 04:00. The results of generalised additive models revealed that large sharks were more often found when water temperatures were higher than 20 °C, after >45 mm of rain and when swell heights were between 1.8 and 2.8 m. Understanding the influence that environmental variables have on the occurrence of bull sharks in the coastal areas of NSW will facilitate better education and could drive shark smart behaviour amongst coastal water users. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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18 pages, 2433 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Dynamics and Fine-Scale Vertical Behaviour of Immature Eastern Australasian White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)

by Julia L. Y. Spaet, Paul A. Butcher, Andrea Manica and Chi Hin Lam

Biology 2022, 11(12), 1689; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11121689 - 22 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3091

Abstract

Knowledge of the 3-dimensional space use of large marine predators is central to our understanding of ecosystem dynamics and for the development of management recommendations. Horizontal movements of white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, in eastern Australian and New Zealand waters have been relatively well studied, yet vertical habitat use is less well understood. We dual-tagged 27 immature white sharks with Pop-Up Satellite Archival Transmitting (PSAT) and acoustic tags in New South Wales coastal shelf waters. In addition, 19 of these individuals were also fitted with Smart Position or Temperature Transmitting (SPOT) tags. PSATs of 12 sharks provided useable data; four tags were recovered, providing highly detailed archival data recorded at 3-s intervals. Horizontal movements ranged from southern Queensland to southern Tasmania and New Zealand. Sharks made extensive use of the water column (0–632 m) and experienced a broad range of temperatures (7.8–28.9 °C). Archival records revealed pronounced diel-patterns in distinct fine-scale oscillatory behaviour, with sharks occupying relatively constant depths during the day and exhibiting pronounced yo-yo diving behaviour (vertical zig-zag swimming through the water column) during the night. Our findings provide valuable new insights into the 3-dimensional space use of Eastern Australasian (EA) white sharks and contribute to the growing body on the general ecology of immature white sharks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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16 pages, 1945 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Factors Affecting Shark Detection from Drone Patrols in Southeast Queensland, Eastern Australia

by Jonathan D. Mitchell, Tracey B. Scott-Holland and Paul A. Butcher

Biology 2022, 11(11), 1552; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11111552 - 23 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1861

Abstract

Drones enable the monitoring for sharks in real-time, enhancing the safety of ocean users with minimal impact on marine life. Yet, the effectiveness of drones for detecting sharks (especially potentially dangerous sharks; i.e., white shark, tiger shark, bull shark) has not yet been tested at Queensland beaches. To determine effectiveness, it is necessary to understand how environmental and operational factors affect the ability of drones to detect sharks. To assess this, we utilised data from the Queensland SharkSmart drone trial, which operated at five southeast Queensland beaches for 12 months in 2020–2021. The trial conducted 3369 flights, covering 1348 km and sighting 174 sharks (48 of which were >2 m in length). Of these, eight bull sharks and one white shark were detected, leading to four beach evacuations. The shark sighting rate was 3% when averaged across all beaches, with North Stradbroke Island (NSI) having the highest sighting rate (17.9%) and Coolum North the lowest (0%). Drone pilots were able to differentiate between key shark species, including white, bull and whaler sharks, and estimate total length of the sharks. Statistical analysis indicated that location, the sighting of other fauna, season and flight number (proxy for time of day) influenced the probability of sighting sharks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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16 pages, 2331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SMART Drumlines Ineffective in Catching White Sharks in the High Energy Capes Region of Western Australia: Acoustic Detections Confirm That Sharks Are Not Always Amenable to Capture

by Stephen M. Taylor, Jason How, Michael J. Travers, Stephen J. Newman, Silas Mountford, Daniela Waltrick, Christopher E. Dowling, Ainslie Denham and Daniel J. Gaughan

Biology 2022, 11(10), 1537; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11101537 - 20 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1677

Abstract

The management of human-shark interactions can benefit from the implementation of effective shark hazard mitigation measures. A Shark-Management-Alert-in-Real-Time (SMART) drumline trial in the Capes region of Western Australia was instigated after several serious incidents involving surfers and white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). The project aimed to determine whether white sharks (target species), which were relocated after capture, remained offshore using satellite and acoustic tagging. Over a 27-month period, 352 fish were caught, 55% of which comprised tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier). Ninety-one percent of animals were released alive in good condition. Only two white sharks were caught; both were relocated ≥ 1 km offshore before release and moved immediately further offshore after capture, remaining predominately in offshore waters for the duration of their 54-day and 186-day tag deployments. Our results confirm that desirable animal welfare outcomes can be achieved using SMART drumlines when response times are minimised. The low target catches and the detection of 24 other tagged white sharks within the study area supported the decision to cease the trial. Our results reiterate there is no simple remedy for dealing with the complexities of shark hazards and reinforce the importance of trialing mitigation measures under local conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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21 pages, 3207 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantifying Catch Rates, Shark Abundance and Depredation Rate at a Spearfishing Competition on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

by Adam Smith, Al Songcuan, Jonathan Mitchell, Max Haste, Zachary Schmidt, Glenn Sands and Marcus Lincoln Smith

Biology 2022, 11(10), 1524; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11101524 - 18 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2493

Abstract

We developed and applied a method to quantify spearfisher effort and catch, shark interactions and shark depredation in a boat-based recreational spearfishing competition in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Queensland. Survey questions were designed to collect targeted quantitative data whilst minimising the survey burden of spearfishers. We provide the first known scientific study of shark depredation during a recreational spearfishing competition and the first scientific study of shark depredation in the Great Barrier Reef region. During the two-day spearfishing competition, nine vessels with a total of 33 spearfishers reported a catch of 144 fish for 115 h of effort (1.25 fish per hour). A subset of the catch comprised nine eligible species under competition rules, of which 47 pelagic fish were weighed. The largest fish captured was a 34.4 kg Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus). The most common species captured and weighed was Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson). The total weight of eligible fish was 332 kg and the average weight of each fish was 7.1 kg. During the two-day event, spearfishers functioned as citizen scientists and counted 358 sharks (115 h effort), averaging 3.11 sharks per hour. Grey Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) comprised 64% of sightings. Nine speared fish were fully depredated by sharks as spearfishers attempted to retrieve their catch, which equates to a depredation rate of 5.9%. The depredated fish included four pelagic fish and five reef fish. The shark species responsible were Grey Reef Shark (C. amblyrhynchos) (66%), Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) (11%), Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus) (11%) and Great Hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) (11%). There were spatial differences in fish catch, shark sightings and rates of depredation. We developed a report card that compared average catch of fish, sightings of sharks per hour and depredation rate by survey area, which assists recreational fishers and marine park managers to assess spatio-temporal changes. The participating spearfishers can be regarded as experienced (average 18 days a year for average 13.4 years). Sixty percent of interviewees perceived that shark numbers have increased in the past 10 years, 33% indicated no change and 7% indicated shark numbers had decreased. Total fuel use of all vessels was 2819 L and was equivalent to 6.48 tons of greenhouse gas emissions for the competition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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16 pages, 2543 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Relative Abundance and Occurrence of Sharks off Ocean Beaches of New South Wales, Australia

by Kim I. P. Monteforte, Paul A. Butcher, Stephen G. Morris and Brendan P. Kelaher

Biology 2022, 11(10), 1456; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11101456 - 04 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2430

Abstract

There is still limited information about the diversity, distribution, and abundance of sharks in and around the surf zones of ocean beaches. We used long-term and large-scale drone surveying techniques to test hypotheses about the relative abundance and occurrence of sharks off ocean beaches of New South Wales, Australia. We quantified sharks in 36,384 drone flights across 42 ocean beaches from 2017 to 2021. Overall, there were 347 chondrichthyans recorded, comprising 281 (81.0%) sharks, with observations occurring in <1% of flights. Whaler sharks (Carcharhinus spp.) had the highest number of observations (n = 158) recorded. There were 34 individuals observed for both white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and critically endangered greynurse sharks (Carcharias taurus). Bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), leopard sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum) and hammerhead species (Sphyrna spp.) recorded 29, eight and three individuals, respectively. Generalised additive models were used to identify environmental drivers for detection probability of white, bull, greynurse, and whaler sharks. Distances to the nearest estuary, headland, and island, as well as water temperature and wave height, were significant predictors of shark occurrence; however, this varied among species. Overall, we provide valuable information for evidence-based species-specific conservation and management strategies for coastal sharks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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19 pages, 5852 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Preliminary Data about Habitat Use of Subadult and Adult White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in Eastern Australian Waters

by Jessica L. Coxon, Paul A. Butcher, Julia L. Y. Spaet and Justin R. Rizzari

Biology 2022, 11(10), 1443; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11101443 - 01 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2649 | Correction

Abstract

In eastern Australia, white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are targeted in shark control programs, yet the movement of subadults and adults of the eastern Australasian population is poorly understood. To investigate horizontal and vertical movement and habitat use in this region, MiniPAT pop-up satellite archival tags were deployed on three larger white sharks (340–388 cm total length) between May 2021 and January 2022. All sharks moved away from the coast after release and displayed a preference for offshore habitats. The upper < 50 m of the water column and temperatures between 14–19 °C were favoured, with a diel pattern of vertical habitat use evident as deeper depths were occupied during the day and shallower depths at night. Horizontal movement consisted of north–south seasonality interspersed with periods of residency. Very little information is available for adult white sharks in eastern Australia and studies like this provide key baseline information for their life history. Importantly, the latitudinal range achieved by white sharks illuminate the necessity for multijurisdictional management to effectively mitigate human-shark interactions whilst supporting conservation efforts of the species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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2 pages, 954 KiB

Open AccessCorrection

Correction: Coxon et al. Preliminary Data about Habitat Use of Subadult and Adult White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in Eastern Australian Waters. Biology 2022, 11, 1443

by Jessica L. Coxon, Paul A. Butcher, Julia L. Y. Spaet and Justin R. Rizzari

Biology 2022, 11(12), 1762; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11121762 - 05 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1074

Abstract

In the original publication [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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11 pages, 1784 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Shark Bite Reporting and The New York Times

by Christopher L. Pepin-Neff

Biology 2022, 11(10), 1438; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11101438 - 30 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3213

Abstract

The social and political dynamics around human–shark interactions are a growing area of interest in marine social science. The question motivating this article asks to what extent media reporting by The New York Times has engaged beyond the lexicon of “shark attack” discourse to describe human–shark interactions. It is important because different styles of reporting on human–shark interactions can influence the public’s perceptions about sharks and support for shark conservation. This media outlet is also a paper of record whose editorial style choices may influence the broader media landscape. I review reporting language from The New York Times for 10 years between 2012 and 2021 (n = 36). I present three findings: first, I argue that The New York Times has had an increased frequency in use of the term “shark bite” to describe human–shark interactions. Secondly, I find that shark “attack” is still used consistently with other narratives. Third, there appears to be an increased use of “sightings; encounter; and incident” descriptors since 2020. The implication of this is a layered approach to reporting on human–shark interactions that diversifies away from a one-dimensional shark “attack” discourse. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding and Managing Human–Shark Interactions in an Environmentally Aware World)

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