Asia-Pacific News
A quarter of fatal shark attacks in 2011 were in Australia
Feb 14, 2012, 6:35 GMT
Sydney - Three of the 12 fatal shark attacks last year were in Australia, US researchers said Tuesday.
The dozen deaths matched the 1993 figure and were almost three times the average in the last decade, according to the International Shark Attack File kept by the University of Florida.
There were 26 attacks in the United States, 11 of them in Florida, but none was fatal.
Australia had 11 attacks and three fatalities - all of them in Perth or elsewhere on the west coast.
Surfers and bodyboarders accounted for 60 per cent of victims worldwide.
'If one is actually under attack by a shark, we advise a proactive response,' the researchers suggested. 'One should not act passively if under attack - sharks respect size and power.'
The dozen human deaths last year compares with the estimated 50 million sharks killed by humans.
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