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Marine waters has always been a major component of Glen Butler's daily routine.

Over 50 years a surfer for five decades and, in that time, he explains he rarely concerned himself about sharks.

"You're aware you're venturing into their domain, so you're vigilant," the 61-year-old commented.

Yet his comfort on the water was shaken last month.

He had ventured for a ocean outing with his companions one early weekend at the beach area in the northern coastal region of Sydney. Not long after Mr Butler left of the surf, companion surfer Mercury Psillakis was tragically lost by a white shark.

"It has rattled us somewhat," he acknowledges. The victim and his identical sibling his brother were familiar in the area, he notes: "You'd always say hello."

The nation Most Dangerous Spot for Shark Attacks

Australia is host to numerous the world's best shorelines. More than 80% of the citizens resides on the coast, so an early morning swim or surf is typical for many of beachgoers each day.

However there are people who think that common practice is turning progressively dangerous.

One local is one of them.

The elderly local recollects staring at massive white sharks captured by anglers as a youngster, back in the days the currently protected species could still be legally hunted.

Witnessing these lifeless creatures hung by their rear fins caused a "gallows-like" emotion, he explains, but not anxiety. Marine predators were creatures of the deep ocean, he believed, and he surfed in the shallower coastal areas.

But half a decade back, his child Anika was nipped by a marine predator while swimming on the coral reef. Though she was not fatally injured, it caused him concerned about the animals – something that escalates with each sensational news story about an attack.

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

While 'The surfer was only the second individual killed by a marine incident in the metropolitan area over the past half-century, it's minimal reassurance to those who commonly use the city's beaches.

Every wave rider spoken to in the weeks after the surfer's fatal encounter stated they feel shark sightings near the coastline are becoming rising.

"We occasionally might have seen a dark shadow, but it could have been a ocean creature," notes the local. "Now, I spot them regularly."

Some concern that shark counts are increasing rapidly, after several types - featuring the planet's most lethal shark species, great whites and tigers - were awarded varying degrees of protection in local marine areas.

Scarce scientific study on population counts to accurately assess the situation – but researchers contend an rise in appearances doesn't necessarily mean there are additional predators.

Conservation specialists propose that warming oceans are altering the migration and feeding habits of sharks. But experts explain any rise in sightings is mainly due to growing quantities of beachgoers going into the sea, and they are magnified by online platforms.

The probability of being nipped by a shark in Australia is still extremely small. Individuals are several thousand times more probable to drown. Certainly, though, that the country is a marine incident danger zone.

The country ranks next after the United States - a nation with much larger the population - for predator encounters, and it tops the globe for lethal encounters, as per the International Shark Attack File.

The tracking system only tracks "non-induced" events – omitting those likely stimulated by individuals through practices such as marine harvesting – but a more comprehensive record of all recorded predator incidents in the nation is managed by Taronga Conservation Society.

The data indicates that predator encounters have generally been rising over recent decades. Currently this time there have been multiple fatal attacks - each non-induced.

Nets 'Similar to a Paper in a Swimming Area'

The state had been about to trial scaling back its use of marine barriers – its oldest predator prevention method – when the latest fatal attack took place.

Shark nets have been employed in the region since nearly a century and currently are commonly placed on 51 beaches from early spring through to late summer. Besides the northern state, it is the only state that continues to employ them.

It cannot be done to fully surround whole shorelines – ocean conditions are too strong and would simply sweep the meshes away.

Alternatively, the shark nets are around 150m extending and are positioned a multiple meters beneath the water's surface. Although anchored to the sea floor at spots, they do not extend to the bottom. So sharks can move above, under and past them.

"It's comparable to dropping a tissue into the pool," Academic institution Academic a marine expert stated.

Local authorities states predator meshes are "not intended to establish a complete separation between swimmers and marine animals" but instead aim to "catch target sharks" during any {hunts