A rising trend in fatal shark attacks is pushing Australia to
reconsider a proposal to begin culling sharks, but two questions
that each credit a different cause in the rise of attacks must
first be answered: first, is the great white shark population
indeed rising thanks to the animals’ protected status? Or is
more human activity putting sharks and humans closer than
before? Following the fatal mauling of 24-year-old surfer
Benjamin Linden, many have called on officials to lift the
shark’s protected status. But Dr. Bob Hueter, director of the
Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research in Sarasota,
Florida points out that there are many reasons that lead to
increased attacks and that it doesn’t necessarily mean their
population is rising. “When you have multiple attacks, it can be
one of two things or a combination of both. The most obvious is
that there are more sharks there in a place where people
frequent for some reason,” Dr. Hueter told BBC News. Cape Cod,
Massachusetts, the site of a recent shar