Sharks are nine times more likely to kill men than women

       Sharks are nine times more likely to kill men than women, a major new study into shark attacks around the world has found.
       Researchers in Australia found men were targeted in 84 per cent of all unprovoked shark attacks.
       However, they also found males make up 89 per cent of all shark bite fatalities - meaning women are statistically more likely to survive a shark attack.
SHARK FACTS
Great whites are the largest predatory fish on Earth.
  They grow to an average of 15 feet (4.6 meters) in length, though specimens exceeding 20 feet (6 meters) and weighing up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms) have been recorded.
The Great White Shark lives for about 25 years
   when they attack, a Great White can hit seals with around 50 g-force, which is more than enough to render them unconscious instantly.
   The average human will black out at around five g's, without the aid of protective clothing
        Daryl McPhee from Bond University in Queensland told the Telegraph the results were so surprising that he had to double-check them.'Potentially men spend more time in the water, and are more risk-prone,' he said.
        McPhee's study, to be published in the international journal Coastal Management this week, found Australia has recorded the highest number of fatal shark bites globally over the past three decades - and the number of unprovoked bites has increased threefold.
         Researchers found 32 fatal shark bites had been documented in Australia between 1982 and 2011, more than South Africa, where there were 28 fatalities, or the United States, which recorded 25.
         McPhee said there was a total of 171 unprovoked bites in Australia during that period, compared with 769 in the United States and 132 in South Africa.'Of the six countries where shark bites are most prevalent, Australia actually recorded the fourth lowest percentage of bites that were fatal at 18.7 per cent, despite having the highest number of total fatalities,' he said.
         'In comparison, the United States has by far the highest number of recorded bites but also the lowest percentage of fatalities, at just 3.6 per cent, which is likely to be because of a higher level of reporting of incidents, while Reunion, a small country located south of Mauritius, had the least attacks of the six countries, but the highest fatality rate at 51.6 per cent.'
          Associate Professor McPhee said the high number of fatalities in shark bite victims in Australia could be attributed to a number of factors.'Australians have an obvious love and affinity with the water, so the high level of usage undoubtedly plays a part,' he said.
          The type and size of sharks found in Australian waters is also believed to be a factor, with the white shark behind the highest number of unprovoked shark bites globally and prevalent here. In Australia, surfers were bitten more than any other recreational water user, with 63 surfers suffering shark bites, compared with 44 swimmers and 26 scuba divers.
         However, only 15.8 per cent of surfers suffered fatal injuries, compared with 34.6 per cent of scuba divers and 33.3 per cent of snorkelers.