{"source_attribution":["Australian Shark-Incident Database (ASID) - Taronga Conservation Society Australia + Flinders University (CC-BY licence)","Surf Life Saving Australia annual reports","ISAF Australia country dossier - Florida Museum of Natural History"],"dataset_notes":"Cumulative human-shark interactions across all states. Counts updated quarterly from ASID releases. Live-feed delta is appended in /api/v1/shark/incidents/live.","last_full_sync":"2026-05-24","data_licence":"CC-BY 4.0 (ASID)","national_summary":{"period":"1791 to 2025-12-31","total_recorded_interactions":1234,"fatalities_total":257,"injuries_total":696,"uninjured_encounters":281,"10yr_2015_2024":{"interactions":218,"fatalities":26,"injuries":128,"uninjured":64,"fatal_rate_per_year_avg":2.6},"5yr_2020_2024":{"interactions":119,"fatalities":14,"injuries":71,"uninjured":34}},"by_state_cumulative_1791_2024":[{"state":"NSW","interactions":318,"fatalities":76,"lat":-32.5,"lng":152.5},{"state":"QLD","interactions":305,"fatalities":78,"lat":-22.0,"lng":148.5},{"state":"WA","interactions":282,"fatalities":59,"lat":-27.0,"lng":115.5},{"state":"SA","interactions":117,"fatalities":27,"lat":-33.8,"lng":137.5},{"state":"VIC","interactions":105,"fatalities":12,"lat":-37.5,"lng":144.5},{"state":"TAS","interactions":47,"fatalities":3,"lat":-42.0,"lng":146.5},{"state":"NT","interactions":35,"fatalities":2,"lat":-13.5,"lng":132.0}],"top_species_implicated":[{"common":"White shark","scientific":"Carcharodon carcharias","share_pct":41},{"common":"Tiger shark","scientific":"Galeocerdo cuvier","share_pct":22},{"common":"Bull shark","scientific":"Carcharhinus leucas","share_pct":18},{"common":"Wobbegong","scientific":"Orectolobus spp.","share_pct":6},{"common":"Whaler/grey nurse","scientific":"Carcharhinus spp. / Carcharias taurus","share_pct":5},{"common":"Other/unidentified","scientific":"—","share_pct":8}],"activity_at_time_of_incident":[{"activity":"Surfing / board-riding","share_pct":42},{"activity":"Swimming / bathing","share_pct":23},{"activity":"Snorkelling / spear-fishing","share_pct":16},{"activity":"Scuba diving","share_pct":8},{"activity":"Other water activity","share_pct":11}],"notable_hotspots_with_coords":[{"name":"Ballina / Lennox Head","state":"NSW","lat":-28.864,"lng":153.566,"interactions_5yr":9,"context":"Iconic surf coast with persistent White Shark presence"},{"name":"Esperance","state":"WA","lat":-33.86,"lng":121.89,"interactions_5yr":7,"context":"Multiple fatal encounters since 2017"},{"name":"Gold Coast","state":"QLD","lat":-28.0,"lng":153.43,"interactions_5yr":11,"context":"Densely populated beach corridor with active SCP nets"},{"name":"Sunshine Coast","state":"QLD","lat":-26.65,"lng":153.09,"interactions_5yr":6,"context":"Bull shark presence in coastal rivers (Mooloolah, Maroochy)"},{"name":"Margaret River / SW WA","state":"WA","lat":-33.955,"lng":114.987,"interactions_5yr":8,"context":"World-class surf breaks with White Shark zone"},{"name":"Coffin Bay / Eyre Pen","state":"SA","lat":-34.62,"lng":135.466,"interactions_5yr":5,"context":"Aquaculture-adjacent waters, recurring fatal incidents"},{"name":"Bondi to Maroubra","state":"NSW","lat":-33.9,"lng":151.27,"interactions_5yr":4,"context":"Urban beaches, SMP shark nets present"},{"name":"Fraser/K'gari coast","state":"QLD","lat":-25.25,"lng":153.19,"interactions_5yr":5,"context":"Tiger shark breeding zone, no nets"},{"name":"Tasman Peninsula","state":"TAS","lat":-43.15,"lng":147.87,"interactions_5yr":2,"context":"Cooler waters, lower frequency but seal-aggregated zones"},{"name":"Cable Beach / Broome","state":"WA","lat":-17.96,"lng":122.213,"interactions_5yr":3,"context":"Northern hotspot, crocodile-shark overlap zone"}],"recent_cluster_may_2026":{"note":"User-reported elevated incident cluster of 3-4 serious interactions across AU in the 3 weeks preceding 2026-05-24. Specific events held PENDING-VERIFICATION until cross-referenced with ASID Q2-2026 release + Surf Life Saving incident reports + ABC/ NSW DPI feeds. The /api/v1/shark/incidents/live endpoint will replace this placeholder when verified.","verification_status":"pending_live_feed","expected_sources":["Australian Shark-Incident Database (ASID) quarterly release","NSW DPI SharkSmart bulletins","Surf Life Saving NSW/QLD/WA incident logs","ABC News / Guardian Australia RSS"]}}