Deadly Attack Sparks Discussion Regarding Controversial Shark Barriers in Australia

The sea has always been a significant component of Glen Butler's existence.

For five decades a board enthusiast for five decades and, during that period, he explains he seldom concerned himself about marine predators.

"You recognize you're entering into their domain, so you're careful," the 61-year-old remarked.

Yet Mr Butler's comfort on the water was shattered last month.

He traveled for a ocean outing with his companions one early weekend at the coastal spot in the northern coastal region of Sydney. A few minutes after Mr Butler left of the ocean, companion surfer Mercury Psillakis was killed by a great white shark.

"It's shaken us a bit," Mr Butler confesses. The surfer and his identical sibling his brother were well-known in the beach community, he adds: "Typically you'd say greetings."

Australia Deadliest Place for Shark Incidents

The country is home to numerous the globally renowned beaches. Above 80% of the population lives on the coastal region, so an sunrise dip or surf is standard for many of beachgoers daily.

However there are individuals who think that daily ritual is growing increasingly risky.

Mirek Craney is one of them.

The 66-year-old Sydney resident recollects staring at huge white sharks caught by fishing crews as a youngster, back in the era the currently protected marine life could still be permitted to be caught.

Witnessing these lifeless creatures hung by their tails provoked a "macabre" feeling, he explains, but not fear. Marine predators were beings of the open sea, he reasoned, and he rode waves in the less deep inlets.

But several years past, his offspring his daughter was attacked by a shark species while diving on the coral reef. Although she lived through, it led Mr Craney anxious about the creatures – a concern that grows with each dramatic report about an attack.

"These events trigger me… I'm terrified," he acknowledges.

Though 'Merc' was only the second individual killed by a shark encounter in the city over the past six decades, it's minimal reassurance to those who frequently visit the city's beaches.

Every surfer contacted in the period after the surfer's fatal encounter stated they feel shark appearances in shallow waters are growing increasingly common.

"Periodically we might have seen a dark shadow, but it could have been a marine mammal," notes the local. "Currently, I observe them all the time."

Certain fear that shark counts are exploding, after various kinds - including the world's two deadliest marine predators, large predators and tiger sharks - were given multiple types of protection in Australian waters.

There is minimal investigation on shark numbers to definitively tell the situation – but specialists contend an growth in sightings doesn't automatically indicate there are increased populations.

Environmental experts indicate that warming oceans are changing the movement and hunting habits of sharks. But scientists explain any increase in sightings is mainly down to growing quantities of individuals venturing into the sea, and they are amplified by online platforms.

The likelihood of being attacked by a shark in Australia is still very low. Individuals are many thousands times higher chance to drown. It is true, nevertheless, that the nation is a predator encounter hotspot.

It is second only to the America - a nation with significantly more the residents - for marine incidents, and it ranks first the world for fatal attacks, as per the worldwide tracking system.

The tracking system only monitors "unprovoked" encounters – not including those potentially stimulated by people through activities such as spear fishing – but a more comprehensive database of all reported predator incidents in the nation is maintained by conservation group.

Records demonstrate that predator encounters have overall been increasing over the past years. Thus far this year there have been multiple lethal encounters - all non-induced.

Nets 'Like a Paper in a Swimming Area'

The state had been about to experiment decreasing its deployment of marine barriers – its oldest shark safety approach – when the latest fatal attack occurred.

Predator meshes have been used in NSW since 1937 and these days are usually deployed on numerous coastal areas from September through to March. In addition to Queensland, it is the exclusive area that continues to employ them.

It's impossible to completely enclose whole shorelines – marine environments are very forceful and would simply sweep the nets away.

Rather, the marine barriers are approximately nearly 500 feet in length and sit a few metres under the water's surface. Although secured to the ocean bottom at points, they fail to touch the seafloor. So marine predators can swim over, beneath and beyond them.

"It's like throwing a napkin into the swimming area," University of Sydney Professor Chris Pepin-Neff commented.

Government officials says marine barriers are "not intended to create a complete barrier between beachgoers and predators" but instead aim to "trap certain species" during any {hunts