SHARK ATTACK DATABASE REBRANDS SELF TO HELP STOP SHARK STIGMA
The Australian national shark attack database has undergone a name change, to help remove the stigma associated with shark attacks.
What was known as the Australian Shark Attack File will now be called the Shark Incident Database.
This new name takes the onus off the word attack and will focus on bites, interactions and negative encounters. It's all part of our recalibration of sharks, who use their mouths to feel what they are biting, which is more often than not a case of mistaken identity, or should that be bite-dentity?
Although films such as Jaws and media reporting may like us to believe otherwise, sharks aren't swimming about waiting for the next human to come along, they are just swimming. And sometimes we end up in their domain and all that thrashing can provoke an exploratory bite.
And that bite can unfortunately leave severe or deadly injuries, when that mouth has hundreds of razor sharp teeth.
But, shark deaths are incredibly rare, although they are often part of a media frenzy when they do happen: Media's Feeding Frenzy on Shark Attacks
This means they will often stick in the memory more than say a news story about a fatal car accident or being struck by lightning. Both which are far more likely than having a negative shark encounter.
This term has started to be used in Australia, instead of the word attack. So far, this positive change for sharks has been made in New South Wales, but has yet to be adopted elsewhere in Australia: NEGATIVE ENCOUNTERS OF THE SHARK KIND
“Although using the term ‘incident’ instead of ‘attack’ in the Australian Shark database may seem like a small change, it is an important one. The word “attack” has connotations of ‘deliberate’ and ‘intentional’ which suggests that sharks intentionally seek out humans, which is not the case. As the Shark Incident Database is predominantly used by scientists, we now also hope to see this change in terminology used by the media when they report on sharks.”