About the Australian Shark-Incident Database

The Australian Shark-Incident Database (ASID), formerly known as the Australian Shark Attack File (ASAF), quantifies temporal and spatial patterns of shark-human interactions in Australia.

ASID is a joint partnership with Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Flinders University, and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Maintained as an uninterrupted record since 1984, the database comprises more than 1,000 individual investigations from 1791 to today.

Principal contacts

• Dr Phoebe Meagher, Taronga Conservation Society Australia
• Madeline Riley (née Thiele), Southern Shark Ecology Group & Global Ecology Lab, Flinders University

Scientific publication

Riley MJ, Meagher P, Huveneers C, Leto J, Peddemors VM, Slip D, West J, Bradshaw CJA. 2022. Data Descriptor: the Australian Shark-Incident Database for quantifying temporal and spatial patterns of shark-human conflict. Scientific Data 9: 378.

doi:10.1038/s41597-022-01453-9

Official repository

Source data and documentation: github.com/cjabradshaw/AustralianSharkIncidentDatabase

The public version of ASID omits some information to protect the privacy of persons involved.

Selected references

• Bradshaw CJA, Meagher P, Thiele MJ, Harcourt RG, Huveneers C. 2021. Predicting potential future reduction in shark bites on people. Royal Society Open Science 8:201197.
• Chapman BK, McPhee D. 2016. Global shark attack hotspots. Ocean and Coastal Management 133:72–84.
• West JG. 2011. Changing patterns of shark attacks in Australian waters. Marine and Freshwater Research 62:744–754.

License

The official ASID repository is released under the MIT License. This web interface is an independent viewer and submission tool built from the public spreadsheet.