Sharks have always stoked panic in Australia. While scientific understanding grows, conservation efforts can be unseated by fear

‘Although many more Australians drown each year at the beach, it’s sharks that inhabit the jagged edges of our collective consciousness.’ Sculpture: A Tribute to the Mighty (Great White Shark) by Oceane Jacob. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian

Is there a more primal fear among beach-goers than the shark? Although many more Australians drown each year at the beach than are killed by these creatures, it’s sharks that inhabit the jagged edges of our collective consciousness.

After a terrifying spate of bites earlier this year, calls for shark culls resurfaced. Ocean swimming and surfing didn’t seem quite the same healthy pursuits they had just months earlier.