The people behind new research at the University of Wollongong want to hear your South Coast shark stories - and not just the ones that involve someone being bitten.
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In an effort to better understand the full gamut of human-shark interactions, Teaniel Mifsud, a Masters student from UOW's School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, wants to hear from the public about all kinds of encounters.
An interactive map set up as part of the research has already been populated with several accounts of shark encounters on the Illawarra coast - some which include an element of fear but many who described the moment as majestic or beautiful.
Read more: 2020 was our year of the shark - but why?
While people are interested in shark stories, many of those that appear prominently in the media involve attacks or bites, and Ms Mifsud wants to know more about the full gamut - including the many more harmless interactions that mostly go unreported.
"Sharks attract a great deal of interest from the public and the media," Ms Mifsud said.
"We saw this recently when a whale carcass washed up on Bulli Beach in September 2020.
"Despite this clear interest, very little is known about encounters between people and sharks outside interactions considered negative; that is, shark bites that lead to injury or death."
Up against the totality of people's encounters with sharks, those where someone is attacked are comparatively rare.
Ms Mifsud's Masters supervisor Dr Leah Gibbs said little was known about the perspectives of people who have had actual encounters with sharks.
"Understanding the perspectives of this group will add to our understanding of human-shark relations and help inform shark-related policies in NSW," Dr Gibbs said.
Ms Mifsud said the map had already generated responses - mostly positive.
"Many have described the encounters as exciting and how they felt lucky to have the opportunity to witness sharks in their natural environment," she said.
"The most surprising part for me is that the majority of people haven't gotten out of the water after encountering a shark. The reaction of many surfers and swimmers is to stay in the water.
"This is very different from what we are usually told to do and something I look forward to exploring more in later interviews.
"I've had a couple of shark encounters myself, but nothing as exciting as those we've already collected on the map. Those experiences were both exciting and a little alarming, and good reminders that sharks are always in the ocean, even when we don't see them, and we are just visitors in that environment."
Read or add to the map here.
