[Paddlewise] Sharks

G'Day,

Before I started kayaking I asked about sharks and Sydney Harbour as
Australia is reputed to have one of the highest incidence of shark attacks
in the world. About one a year are fatal here I believe. Most seemed to
involve fishermen or small fishing boats or dogs or people swimming. I think
there were one or two which involved rowing boats and this may have been due
to the boats not seeing the shark before they bumped into it. Couldn't find
a recorded incident of a shark attacking a sailing dinghy despite the amount
of time they seem to spend wrong side up. But did find two incidents of
sharks attacking kayaks one off the coast of Western Australia and one in a
river in Sydney. Many of the attacks were in rivers and I've heard this may
be because this is where sharks give birth and old sharks go to die, does
anyone know if this is true?

Anyway I've adopted the rule of not fishing from my kayak, staying well away
from fishermen, looking where I'm going and not dumping bodily fluids or
food (or anything else for that matter) over the side of the boat. Sadly
have only seen one shark and it totally ignored me (for which I am
grateful). But I guess if you were really worried you could always put up a
sail. :~)

Now Crocodiles and Funnel Web Spiders are a different story

All the best, PeterO

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