First shark death for 60 years hits Sydney, Australia, but it is man who is the monster

A 35-year-old British man his become the first to die by shark encounter in Sydney, Australia for six decades.

Simon Nellist, a regular swimmer and a diving instructor who now lived in Australia, has been named locally as the victim. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and loved ones.

The infrequency of shark attack deaths in that area certainly doesn't make it any less tragic.

And that is part of the reason it is so shocking, as such horrific events are so rare.

Australia had the most unprovoked shark attack deaths last year according to the International Shark Attack File, with three deaths, which was a marked decline to the year before, six. Again, Australia had the most fatalities.

It has also made bigger waves in the media as it was partly filmed. That video footage of the last moments of the attack have surfaced and are all over the Internet and social media leaves a bitter taste. This isn't a shark eating a seal, it's a man, a human being, who had a family.

It's not something you are going to see here, bottom line is it isn't comfortable viewing watching the final moments of someone, no matter how they died. Whether the footage has been pixilated or not. It's all a tad macabre and frankly unnecessary as we become vultures picking over the video.

Sydney shark attack victim Simon Nellist

If you don't like it, don't watch it I hear you say, but when did our standards slip where - although news due to its infrequency and shocking manner - there was no way we needed to see the footage or for it to be even shared as it has. It would seem we are the real monsters.

It is another example of the media feeding frenzy that sharks set off in print and broadcast media when a fatal attack occurs.

There's talk of it being a horror shark attack and the shark is referred to as a beast on another report, but it is encouraging to see that it isn't being referred to as like a scene from Jaws, or like a real life Jaws moment.

Sadly, human remains were found by rescuers almost an hour-and-a-half after a fisherman first reported a person in the water had been attacked and dragged under by a shark. It is suspected to be a great white.

It's likely that the attack was a case of mistaken identity, someone in their domain in the wrong place at the wrong time, especially as there were plenty of other people in the sea.

Shark attacks in Australia are more common during their summer months, from November to April, so with several months of packed beaches and people heading to the sea left, tensions are set to be high on many coastal resorts.

The ocean is a shared environment, and many people using it knowing that they are taking that risk that they could be sharing it with a shark that may, or may not, want to check them out.

If you are going swimming in the sea, here's some practical advice on helping you avoid a negative shark encounter.

https://thedailyjaws.com/blog/2021/4/25/how-stay-shark-safe

Words by Dean Newman

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