ROGUE sharks exist only in Hollywood. And it is time the term ''shark attack'' was rejected as sensationalist and misleading, according to Christopher Neff, a researcher at the University of Sydney carrying out the world's first PhD on the politics of ''shark bite incidents''.

''Swimmers are in the way, not on the menu,'' he said. ''There is no evidence that any shark species develops a taste for human flesh.''

Mr Neff argues that incidents should not always be described as attacks.

Mr Neff does not want to play down the tragedy of serious or fatal encounters with the sea's top predators.

But persistent myths and sensationalism can lead to ineffective, political solutions, such as the recent authorisation of a shark hunt in Western Australia after three deaths, which would have made no swimmer safer if it had gone ahead, he said.