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Marine waters has consistently been a central aspect of Glen Butler's existence.

Over 50 years a board enthusiast for half a century and, in that time, he notes he rarely thought about ocean hunters.

"You're aware you're entering into their environment, so you're vigilant," the senior surfer remarked.

Yet his assurance in the ocean was shaken last month.

He had ventured for a wave session with his friends one early weekend at the beach area in Sydney's northern beaches. Shortly after he exited of the water, fellow surfer the experienced surfer was fatally attacked by a large marine predator.

"It's shaken us quite," the surfer admits. The victim and his twin brother his brother were familiar in the area, he continues: "You would regularly say greetings."

Australia Deadliest Spot for Shark Incidents

Australia is host to numerous the globally renowned coastal areas. Above 80% of the citizens resides on the shoreline, so an dawn ocean swim or wave session is typical for many of people daily.

Yet there are people who believe that common practice is becoming more dangerous.

One local is one of them.

The senior Sydneysider remembers looking at huge large predators hauled in by fishermen as a child, in the time the now-protected animal could still be legally hunted.

Observing these dead beasts dangling by their tails caused a "gallows-like" emotion, he describes, but not fear. Marine predators were beings of the deep ocean, he believed, and he rode waves in the more shallow inlets.

Yet half a decade back, his child his daughter was nipped by a marine predator while diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Though she lived through, it made the father anxious about the creatures – something that grows with each dramatic news story about an encounter.

"Such incidents affect me… I'm terrified," he acknowledges.

Though 'The victim was only the second person killed by a shark attack in Sydney over the past 60 years, it's small consolation to those who commonly use the urban shorelines.

Each surfer spoken to in the period after Psillakis' fatal encounter said they believe shark sightings near the coastline are growing more frequent.

"Sometimes we could have spotted a unidentified shape, but it may have been a ocean creature," notes Mr Craney. "Now, I see them regularly."

Several worry that marine predator populations are increasing rapidly, after several types - featuring the globally most dangerous marine predators, great whites and tigers - were granted varying degrees of conservation in Australian waters.

Scarce scientific study on marine predator statistics to definitively tell the situation – but specialists argue an increase in appearances isn't always proof there are increased populations.

Environmental experts indicate that warming oceans are modifying the swimming and hunting patterns of ocean hunters. But experts note any increase in sightings is largely down to growing quantities of people venturing into the water, and they are enhanced by digital networks.

The chance of being bitten by a shark here is still very low. Individuals are many thousands times more likely to suffer drowning. Certainly, however, that the nation is a predator encounter high-risk area.

It is second only to the US - a nation with significantly more the people - for predator encounters, and it ranks first the world for deadly incidents, based on the worldwide tracking system.

This record only records "unprovoked" events – not including those possibly stimulated by individuals through actions such as underwater hunting – but a complete record of all recorded shark interactions in Australia is kept by conservation group.

The data indicates that marine incidents have overall been growing over modern times. Already this time there have been several lethal encounters - each non-induced.

Meshes 'Similar to a Napkin in a Pool'

New South Wales had been preparing to test decreasing its deployment of shark nets – its longest-running shark safety method – when the most recent lethal encounter happened.

Marine barriers have been used in the state since 1937 and presently are typically installed on numerous coastal areas from early spring through to March. Besides the northern state, it is the only state that continues to employ them.

It's not feasible to fully surround complete coastal areas – sea states are extremely powerful and would simply carry the nets away.

Alternatively, the predator meshes are approximately 150m extending and are positioned a several feet below the ocean surface. While secured to the sea floor at points, they don't reach the seafloor. So sharks can move over, under and around them.

"It's comparable to dropping a paper into the pool," Research center Professor a shark researcher commented.

Local authorities states shark nets are "not designed to form a total barrier between beachgoers and sharks" but alternatively seek to "catch certain species" during any {hunts