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Australia Starts Bull Shark Study After Fatal Attacks

5/26/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Researchers will launch Australia’s first east-coast bull shark study after two fatal attacks, which scientists attribute to crowded waters and warming oceans, noting 1,300 encounters since 1791 and 260 deaths.
A 39-year-old spearfisher was bitten at Kennedy Shoal on the Great Barrier Reef, suffered a critical head injury and died at Hull River Heads ramp.
A 38-year-old man died on May 16 near Rottnest Island, possibly from a great white shark.

History

Historical Context

July 1916’s Jersey Shore shark attacks, which killed four swimmers and injured a child, shocked the nation and prompted the U.S. Navy to fund Harvard marine biologists $5,000 for the first systematic shark-behavior study along the Atlantic coast. That precedent underlies today’s Australian east-coast bull-shark project, which tracks roughly 1,300 recorded encounters since 1791 to guide coastal safety policies.

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Story summary

Researchers will launch Australia’s first east-coast bull shark study after two fatal attacks, which scientists attribute to crowded waters and warming oceans, noting 1,300 encounters since 1791 and 260 deaths.
A 39-year-old spearfisher was bitten at Kennedy Shoal on the Great Barrier Reef, suffered a critical head injury and died at Hull River Heads ramp.
A 38-year-old man died on May 16 near Rottnest Island, possibly from a great white shark.

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