Surf's up and so are the sharks.

The article focuses on figures revealed by the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), according to which shark attacks have fallen for the fifth year in a row, with 58 unprovoked attacks recorded worldwide during 2005, including four deaths. That might sound reassuring, but in the longer term the threat from sharks remains as great as ever. Decade on decade, shark attacks are increasing as more people hit the beaches and take up recreational water-sports. During the 1990s, the ISAF recorded 470 unprovoked attacks. Overfishing is taking its toll on shark numbers, while mesh nets, such as those strung up at popular beaches in Australia and South Africa, are reducing attacks locally by catching and killing sharks--and other marine creatures with them.