Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz

Dangerously prophetic, this column can be. It wasn't that long ago that talk of earthquakes on this page was followed the next week by Christchurch's disaster.

For a couple of weeks now, we've been warning of the dangers that lurk at the coastline and sadly, after our headline last week about sharks circling, the country has witnessed its first fatal shark attack in nearly 40 years.

The frenzy of public attention needs to be tempered with some commonsense here.

Shark attacks are very, very rare. While Auckland's western beaches have been closed and a huge media circus has enveloped Muriwai, let's not lose sight of the fact that this was probably a one off, freak event. That is little consolation to the swimmer and his family, but we need to put sharks in perspective.

A far greater killer on those beaches is the surf itself. Hundreds of people die around the coast of New Zealand, not from predation by large animals, but from their own stupidity – plunging into the surf like lemmings and expecting surf lifesavers to haul them out.

You don't see beaches closed for days every time there's a drowning.

Nor do we often see beaches closed when there's a risk of drowning. Yet the risk of drowning is almost constantly present. The priorities are pretty screwed up.

There is a far greater risk on the road. You are far more likely to find your demise on State Highway 2 heading to the beach, than in the water. And far, far, far more likely to die on the roads than be killed by a shark.

You are more at threat from being struck by a falling hot air balloon, or clinging to the remains of a hot air balloon, than you are from being killed by a shark.

The chances are greater of being hit by a stray bullet ricochet from Tuhoe activist gun training exercises, than perishing in a shark mauling.

Being blown up by a stray air force rocket flare is also higher on the risk factor, or succumbing to a boat strike from protesters attempting to save the whales, dolphins and the humphead wrasse.

We covered this coastal hazard a couple of weeks ago on this page.

Consider this then, while next on the roads of our region, fearing for your life.

You are much more likely to die of melanoma than die on the road. That is all explained to us this week by the appropriately-named Dr Eugene Tan. (See the story, p18).

Ironically, chances are that the melanoma has developed as a result of too much time exposed to the sun, while at the beach pondering your chances of a shark attack.

Yet skin cancer is the most preventable of all cancers.

We don't see beaches being closed because of too much sun, and therefore the high risk of melanoma. Yet the cancer takes thousands of times more lives of beachgoers every year than shark attacks – or hot air balloons.

The RR approach to avoiding melanoma and shark attacks is to wear a wetsuit but try not to look like a seal. The wetsuits help ward off melanoma, but don't seem so effective against sharks… due to wetsuits making people look more like seals.

Seals have a lot to answer for. We should all club together and do something about it. They are the primary reason, as we understand it, that people get attacked by sharks.

At all times in the water, try not to look like a seal.

Especially, do not slap your flippers together and bark while balancing a ball on your head.

This could result in an alternate fate. You might end up in Marineland. Or even in public office. We have some lovely examples of performing seals running this town.

Treasured culture

Meanwhile, speaking of performing seals, Tame Iti has finally been released from jail, hopefully to continue his sterling work promoting his treasured culture of bushcraft and firearms.

It is good to see someone putting some effort into promoting the ancient ways with firearms, clearly a little-known or understood Maori tradition.