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

From Aboriginal rock art to colonial encounters, sharks have been a figure of fear and fascination throughout the long human history of this continentIs 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.