The shark myth is dead: Analysis reveals Australia’s new deadly shark attack reality

Friday’s horror shark attack in Sorrento just metres from the beach is truly chilling. Perhaps more chilling is the fact that the data shows a disturbing trend when it comes to shark incidents in Australia.

For decades, Australians have taken comfort in the the age-old saying they are more likely to be killed by lightning than by a shark.

But new analysis by The West Australian shows that reassurance no longer stacks up.

Fatal shark attacks have outnumbered lightning strike deaths by four to one over the past decade, highlighting a dramatic shift in one of Australia’s most enduring beliefs.

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the the Australian Shark-Incident Database, six people were killed by lightning between 2015 and 2024. During that same period, 24 people were killed by shark attacks.

While the official ABS figures for 2025 and 2026 are yet to be released, there have only been two reported lightning deaths in this period, compared to nine fatal shark attack deaths.

Research by Bond University Associate Professor of Environmental Science Dr Daryl McPhee found Australia averaged fewer than one recorded fatal shark bite every two years between 1980 and 1999. That rose to just over two bites a year between 2000 and 2019, and more than five a year between 2020 and 2025.

Meanwhile, Risk Frontiers reports Australia has recorded an average of just one to two lightning fatalities annually since the mid-1990s.

The Australian Shark-Incident Database also points to a long-term increase, with 23 fatal shark attacks recorded between 2020 and 2025 alone, compared with 17 across the entire 1950s.

This increase of shark bites is being felt across the country. Few places have felt the devastating human cost of shark attacks more acutely than Western Australia.

The attack at Sorrento Beach on Friday marked the third fatal shark attack in WA this year which was witnessed by beachgoers as a man was mauled just a few metres from shore.

The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the tight-knit coastal community, where many had been in the water enjoying the ocean on a clear spring day just hours earlier.

It follows another incident earlier this week when Geraldton local Mel Ismail was surfing about 40m off shore at Glenfield Beach, 430km north of Perth, about 9.50am on Monday when the shark struck, tearing a huge chunk out of his surfboard.

He now faces a long recovery in intensive care after losing his foot in the attack.