The other side of the shark story

When we hear the words “shark” and “Australia” in the same sentence, it is most often a story about a shark bite. Shark incidences are higher in Australia than in most places around the world, but they are, by no means high in occurrence. The press simply loves a scary story and will always promote it. We also frequently hear news about ongoing efforts to cull sharks, to increase the use of drum lines, shark nets and other shark-detracting devises.

If only the economic value of sharks was promoted as intensely as such incidences, the general attitude about sharks might change. The following are numbers from a published paper that highlights the revenues gained from several species of sharks by just one industry in Australia - dive tourism. Future reports will take a comprehensive look at a total value gained, including various other industries.

A study by Huveneers et al., 2017 surveyed the whale shark, white shark, grey nurse shark, and reef shark diving industries between March 2013 and June 2014 and collected information on expenditures related to diving, accommodation, transport, living costs, and other related activities during divers’ trips.

• The total annual direct expenditure by shark divers in Australia is estimated conservatively at $25.5 M.

• Additional expenditure provided by the white-shark and whale-shark-diving industries totaled $8.1 and $12.5 M for the Port Lincoln and Ningaloo Reef regions respectively.

• International tourists diving with white sharks also expended another $0.9 M in airfares and other activities while in Australia.

• These additional revenues show that the economic value of this type of tourism does not flow solely to the industry, but are also spread across the region where it is hosted.

The study emphasizes the need to ensure a sustainable dive-tourism industry through adequate management of both shark-diver interactions and biological management of the species on which it is based.

Read the full text here: The economic value of shark-diving tourism in Australia