Environmental psychologist, Dr Brianna Le Busque, breaks down the truth about shark encounters & fear

Speaking with FlowFM as part of National Science Week, Dr Brianna Le Busque joined Jess on the Country Viewpoint program to talk about her life and work as an environmental psychology scientist and a shark expert.

Through her work and research, Dr Le Busque  dives deep into the reasons why people have a deep-seeded fear of sharks, and how that fear affects everything from conservation to public policy.

"If we look at the overall odds, it's a one in eight million chance of being fatally bitten by a shark," Dr. Le Busque said.

"In Australia it equates to approximately on average two fatal deaths per year across the country, but when these incidents happen in close succession - like we've seen in South Australia in recent years - it captures national attention and the scale of that can make people think such incidents are more common than they actually are."

She notes that when it comes to sharks, both regional and metro Australians share similar levels of fear, although people in areas where shark sightings are more common often feel heightened concern.

"It's a bit of a mixed bag but interestingly we know that people have a fear of sharks more than other sorts of threats that are realistically more likely to actually hurt us," she said.

"We know that the media and particularly things like the Jaws films do have a big impact on fear of sharks - especially when they're portrayed a mindless, ruthless killing machines. One of the other key things from a psychology perspective is that we're more likely to fear things that we think we don't have control over, and we definitely don't have control over sharks when out in the ocean. That's why people fear sharks say more than something like domestic dogs, even though the stats are pretty similar in terms of how likely they are to hurt us."

When it comes to reducing risks of shark encounters, Dr. Le Busque suggests staying out of murky waters, avoiding swimming after heavy rain, and steering clear of areas with lots of bait fish.

“And if you see a fin—get out of the water,” she said.

Amidst the ongoing South Australian algal bloom crisis, Dr Le Busque said sharks were among the multiple marine species impacted by the outbreak.

"Unfortunately, they are one of the key species feeling the particular struggles of the bloom," she said.

"It particularly impacts species with gills - so that's why we are seeing species of sharks wash up."

"It's also changing shark behaviour when it comes to their prey since the availability of fish is becoming an issue. So it is definitely impacting shark populations and it's something that scientists are kind of scrambling to figure out exactly how it's impacting and how many sharks are being impacted."

Finally, Dr Le Busque encouraged all Australians to get involved and explore events during National Science Week.

“There’s something for everyone, no matter your interest. Head to nationalscienceweek.net.au to get involved," she said.