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I heard there are regions along the Australian cost that are swarming with sharks. Yet Florida always has the most reported shark attacks each year. Are there a lot more people in Florida, hence more attacks; or are there that many sharks on the Australian coast, so people just do not go in the water?

My guess is that we hear about Florida all the time because we are in US and there is no need for us to hear about shark attacks from other parts of the world.  I am sure its the same for Australia and they do not hear about Florida attacks as well.  Possibility of getting bitten by a shark is so remote that I don't even bother thinking about it.

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"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein
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I had a co-worker a few years back who was saving up her money to go to Australia to swim with great whites.  I don't know what sort of death wish she had, but she was crazy into it.  As for me, I'll be sitting on the beach, where they can't get ticked off and decide to tell me to get out of their ocean.  I think there are probably a good number of attacks down there too, we just don't get as much worldwide news unless it involves severe conflict or a natural disaster.

There aren't that many shark attacks anywhere, but when there is one, it gets a great deal of coverage, since it's so dramatic.

I lived in Central America, and discovered the stat that more people are killed annually from falling coconuts than from shark attacks.

Yeah, shark attacks are always big news. Bears wandering through a backyard are big news.

There are shark attacks in Australia, the US, South Africa and other areas where there are sharks. There are some places you just don't go swimming (the place ithat has 'Air Jaws' where the Great Whites literally fly out of the water. Very impressive).  There are stories, too, of going diving and getting left behind and the  guess is that they got eaten by sharks since they weren't ever found.

On the whole, safety precautions are  super important if your going to go swimming with sharks.

Austrlaians are pretty carefully educated about predators in the water like shark sand crocs.  Swimming beaches often have shark nets and patrols and a siren to tell people to come in if one is spotted.  So the difference probably has a lot to do with that.  Most Aussies live near water and know how they have to behave to be as safe as possible.

Ok i like to play in the water and I like to swim every once in a while but there is only so far that I will go. I don't play with sharks, I watch to many Jaws movies to know that they aren't anything to play with.

I would love to participate in a well organised, and safely supervised dive. Shark swims are generally set up with the people educated before hand. You have safety equipment on hand too-really low risk.

I agree that the Australian attitude towards sharks is very different to that in Florida. I am sure that has something to do with their safety record.