Annual Report Summary 2020
Opens in a new tab
Australian Shark Incident Database
Australian Shark Incident Database
The Australian Shark Incident Database (formally known as the Australian Shark Attack File) is considered the principal source of shark-bite data in Australia. The Australian Shark Attack File was founded by John West in the 1980s and based on the initial research by David Baldridge, whose 1974 analysis of the database resulted in the first book on shark/human interactions.
Australian Shark Incident Database
The Australian Shark Incident Database (formally known as the Australian Shark Attack File) is considered the principal source of shark-bite data in Australia. The Australian Shark Attack File was founded by John West in the 1980s and based on the initial research by David Baldridge, whose 1974 analysis of the database resulted in the first book on shark/human interactions.
The database
The Australian Shark Incident Database (ASID) quantifies temporal and spatial patterns of shark-human interactions in Australia.
The ASID is a joint partnership with Taronga Conservation Society Australia, along with Flinders University, and the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
Maintained as an uninterrupted record by a few committed Taronga team members since 1984, the File currently comprises > 1000 individual investigations from 1791 to today, making it the most comprehensive database of its kind available.
The database has been maintained by Taronga Conservation Society Australia since 1984 and includes more than 1,1000 individual investigations of shark-human interactions in Australia since 1791. All interactions reported to the database are subject to thorough assessment to collate all possible information about the event. The original dataset is a comprehensive repository with 100 descriptor fields including information such as geographical location of the incident, weather conditions, victim recovery status, shark species, and time of incident. This information is gained by a purpose-designed questionnaire completed by victims, witnesses, official reports, and investigations by qualified biologists.
Gathering this information enables a comprehensive evaluation of the contact and potential causes of shark bites, and may assist in reducing these incidents and promoting sustainable shark-human coexistence.
A paper describing the data was published in Nature’s Scientific Data in 2022
400
of sharks found around the world.
Over 90%
of all Australian shark bite incidents have been attributed to White Sharks, Bull Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Wobbegongs and other whaler sharks.
White, bull, & tiger sharks
are responsible for most serious bites and fatalities.
Bull Sharks
tend to prefer murky turbid water and often hunt there.
Warm waters
Tiger Sharks and Bull Sharks prefer warmer water.
White Sharks
hunt prey by attacking them from below, hitting them at the surface. These sharks can tolerate much cooler waters.
180 species of sharks
can be found in Australian waters
400
of sharks found around the world.
Over 90%
of all Australian shark bite incidents have been attributed to White Sharks, Bull Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Wobbegongs and other whaler sharks.
White, bull, & tiger sharks
are responsible for most serious bites and fatalities.
Bull Sharks
tend to prefer murky turbid water and often hunt there.
Warm waters
Tiger Sharks and Bull Sharks prefer warmer water.
White Sharks
hunt prey by attacking them from below, hitting them at the surface. These sharks can tolerate much cooler waters.
180 species of sharks
can be found in Australian waters
Near shore
Shark incidents often occur close to beaches when sharks come in looking for prey. They may be following schools of fish or looking for cooler water nearer the coast where there is likely to be more food.
Busy beaches
Many Australians and tourists to Australia visit the beach every year. Surf Life Saving Australia’s annual National Coastal Survey found that in the last 12 months, 16 million Australians visited the coast at least 3.3 times per month.
Incident data
Over the last 10 years there were, on average, 27 shark incidents each year where people were injured. There were on average 2.7 fatalities each year and 7 incidents where the person was uninjured.
Relative risk
In 2025 there were five fatal shark bites in Australia. Over 2024-2025, Surf Life Saving Australia reported 357 coastal drowning deaths and there were 1,314 fatalities on Australian roads.
Analysing the data
Criteria for inclusion and the process behind classifying data.
All shark incident cases that are reported to the Australian Shark-Incident Database undergo a comprehensive review of the circumstances and available details. Formal investigations are undertaken by qualified biologists and, where possible, questionnaires are sent to the victim or witnesses and official reports are gathered, making the Database as comprehensive and accurate as possible.
All cases that meet the 'criteria for inclusion' are classified as either 'provoked' or 'unprovoked'. As information is gathered through ongoing research, the details on any case are updated to reflect the new information.
The Australian Shark-Incident Database advises State and Federal authorities and the general public about shark incident risks, receiving more than 100 information requests each year, and works closely with the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) based in the USA.
All reports of a shark bite in Australia are assessed against the following criteria for inclusion. Shark-human interactions should be included in the database if they meet all of the following three criteria:
(i) the person is alive at the time of the incident,
(ii) the person is in the water or using a small watercraft (e.g., kayak, surfboard, bodyboard, non-motorised vessel), and
(iii) there is a determined attempt by a shark to bite a person, equipment worn or being used, or the small watercraft.
For the purpose of this database, the interaction should be recorded regardless of whether the bite is successful (i.e., occurs).
An ‘unprovoked’ encounter between a human and a shark is defined as an incident where a shark is in its natural habitat and has made a determined attempt to bite a human where that person is not engaged in provocative activities.
A ‘provoked’ incident relates to circumstances where the person attracts or initiates physical contact with a shark (accidentally or on purpose) or was fishing for, stabbing, feeding, netting, or handling a shark, or where the shark was attracted to the victim by activities such as fishing, spearfishing (where a fish has already been speared), and cleaning of captured fish. Until 2021, all incidents involving a spearfisher or a commercial diver were categorised as ‘provoked’. Since review of provocation criteria, incidents involving spearfishers will now be classed as ‘provoked’ only if a fish has already been speared. Incidents involving rays are considered out of scope and are not included in the database.
Publishing this information
Any use of this information in any publication must contain appropriate accreditation to the Australian Shark Incident Database, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, and cannot be used for commercial purposes without express permission from Taronga.
This database is dynamic and regularly updated, so numbers of recorded incidents and their outcomes are subject to change reflecting new information available and new cases as they occur.
ASID annual reports
(opens in a new tab)Personal Protection
Fact sheet
(opens in a new tab)Shark Smart
Technology, Trials and Research
More to explore
Little Penguin
Little Penguins, sometimes called Blue Penguins, are the smallest of all the world’s penguin species, and the only species to breed on the Australian mainland.
CryoDiversity Bank
Find out more about how Taronga is using biobanking to secure genetic diversity and contribute to species recovery across Australian ecosystems.
Australian Sea-lion
Australian Sea-lions are the only seal species endemic to Australia. They have a bellowing roar and a bold yellow mane made of long thick hairs. It is easy to see why this semi-aquatic predator got its name!