Dozens of beaches, including in Sydney, were closed this week after four shark attacks in two days, as heavy rains left the waters murky and more likely to attract the animals.
Australia averages 20 shark attacks a year, fewer than three of them fatal, according to data from conservation groups. Those numbers are dwarfed by drownings on the country’s beaches.
It was Sydney’s third recent shark-related death.
In September, a great white shark mauled surfer Mercury Psillakis to death at a popular northern Sydney ocean beach.
Two months later, a bull shark killed a woman swimming off a remote beach north of Sydney.
Australian scientists believe increasingly crowded waters and rising ocean temperatures are swaying sharks’ migratory patterns, which may be contributing to a rise in attacks.