Australia has lots of sharks. That’s not news. There were a slew of attacks around Sydney earlier this year. We’ve seen shark attacks result in the cancellation of the Margaret River Pro, and just this year, a sighting led to a delay at the Gold Coast Pro.
But, according to a new documentary, Shark Country, the active shark areas on the east and west coasts of Australia aren’t the most dangerous places to be a surfer. That designation belongs to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.
The area is frequented by 1,400 white sharks that travel up the peninsula each year, passing under the dangling feet of the 350 surfers who call the rural area home. In the past four years, they’ve experienced five attacks. Only one victim survived.
The risk of a shark attack looms in the minds of the surfers of Elliston, a town that lacks the resources to mitigate the risk of sharks compared to the more well-funded surf zones on the east and west coasts of the country. Some call for culling problem sharks, while some paddle out with a tourniquet just in case of an attack.
It’s a reality that has divided a small Australian surf community, where every session comes with questions of how much risk is worth it.
