Sharks, unprovoked, chomped on humans 98 times worldwide last year, the most since records began 57 years ago, according to data from the International Shark Attack File.
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The school released its report on what might be behind the 98 attacks – a number which breaks the 2000 record of 88 attacks. “As our population continues to rapidly grow and shark populations slowly recover, we’re going to see more interactions”, he said in a statement.
There were 16 other attacks in North American waters outside the United States, to go with 18 attacks in Australia, eight in South Africa and others reported from Brazil to Egypt. Within in the US, Florida led the states with 30 attacks, followed by North Carolina and SC each with eight. Twice as many fatal attacks were recorded than in 2014, according to the International Shark Attack File. You can just imagine how many adults fail to outgrow their fear of sharks because of the movies they watched as kids. Their names may be unfamiliar, but in certain parts of the world these unusual looking sharks thrive, while others have reached extinction.
“Although the headlines say ‘attack, ‘ these are really more of encounters, they are nonlethal”, Neil Hammerschlag, Director of the Shark Research and Conservation Program at the University of Miami, tells The Christian Science Monitor in a phone interview Tuesday.
Bruce said most of the time when sharks and people were in close proximity there was not an attack and once it was understood what made sharks bite people, then attacks could be prevented.
The United States only had one death in its 59 documented shark attacks (which can be anything from a deadly bite to a mere nudge), meaning you’re better off getting bit there than most anywhere else if you want to survive.
But while the attack rate was higher previous year, the mortality rate was about half of what it was in 2000.
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Six people were killed by sharks, including a snorkeller in Hawaii. That’s true in a place like Florida, now the nation’s third most populous state, which had the majority of all US shark attacks previous year – 30 – and alone had over 30% of the worldwide total. “When we visit the sea, we’re on their turf”. The conditions have been a draw to both sharks and humans.
