Do you worry about sharks when you swim on the beach?

Go to places with shark nets, or just keep an eye out for the people who swim further out.If one of them go's missin I get out...simple.

by jonaja

Lol ... good idea ... use other swimmers as bait.

Not really, no. You're more likely to get struck by lightning than eaten by a shark.

There are certain times of the day you should avoid swimming (dawn and dusk) and certain places too. I used to go fishing with my parents on Fraser Island and there was a good fishing spot where the fishermen used to chuck bait and fish remains (after cleaning them) into the water. This brought sharks into the gutter and then some idiot fisherment would keep on standing around in waist deep water fishing with the sharks nearby. I never heard of anyone being attacked there but it seemed like only a matter of time. But provided you don't do stupid things like that they're not that big a danger.

I find shark nets a bit troubling because other marine life gets caught in them and dies.

by Jennifer Muirhead

No. More worried about those bluebottles though. Had to go straight to hospital from a trip on the Gold Coast once, as soon as I left the airport.

by Justine Crowley

Due to being massively stung by a few while surfing...

They really do hurt! I got one wrapped around my ankle once.

Not at all - more than half of shark attacks are caused by instigating them. I normally swim within the boundaries anyway, but if I did spot one, I'd just stay still for a while before it gets bored and wards off.

by Xarah

I don't particularly like swimming anyway, so I don't generally go in the water. I wouldn't be put off by fear of sharks though - not unless it was a specific area where you would expect to find them.

by Bryony Harrison

Yes, but only because I have an irrational phobia. I read the first chapter of Jaws when I was 11 and was terrified ever since...(I also blame seeing James Bond when I was about 3)

by Lydia C. Lee

Haven't been in the surf for decades, due lifestyle. Surfed up to late teenage-hood, all the time. Loved it. Don't have shark nets where I'd surf nowadays.

by donjo