by Unprovoked shark attacks around the world rose slightly last year, but twice as many people died from shark bites than the year before, new data shows.
There were 69 unprovoked shark attacks in 2023, higher than the five-year average of 63 attacks per year, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File.
Ten of the attacks in 2023 were fatal, up from five the year before, researchers said.
“This is within the range of the normal number of bites, although the deaths are a little unclear this year,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research program.
Australia suffered a disproportionate number of shark bite deaths, the researchers noted. The continent accounted for 22% of all attacks but accounted for 40% of deaths.
Other shark attack deaths occurred in the United States, the Bahamas, Egypt, Mexico and New Caledonia, researchers said.
There were 36 unprovoked shark attacks in the United States, which is 52% of all incidents worldwide. Of those, there were two fatal attacks, one in California and another in Hawaii.
As in previous years, Florida had more shark bites than any other state, with 16 attacks.
Confirmed non-fatal bites have also occurred in Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, New Zealand, Seychelles, Turks and Caicos, Ecuador and South Africa.
This annual report focuses primarily on unprovoked attacks, although the database documents all shark bites on humans.
Incited attacks include deliberately approaching a shark or swimming in an area where bait is being used to attract fish, researchers said.
Three deaths occurred in 2023 at one remote sensing destination, the Great Green Peninsula off the coast of South Australia. The area is known for its excellent surf breaks, making it difficult to find but an attractive spot for surfers.
Unfortunately, the region is also home to seal colonies and many white sharks, researchers said.
“If a white shark is going after a seal and the seal knows it, the white shark doesn’t stand a chance,” Naylor explained in a museum news release.
“Seals are really agile, so the only ones that get caught are the ones that stick out and float around on the surface minding their own business. And that’s what a surfer looks like.”
There are also bull sharks in Australia and around its tidal rivers, with a death due to a bull shark attack in early 2023 at a brackish estuary near the coast.
“Beach safety in Australia is second to none. They are amazing,” said Joe Miguez, a doctoral student in the Florida Shark Research Program.
“However, if you go to remote regions where beach safety is not in place, there is a higher risk of a fatal shark attack. This is because when an attack occurs and beach safety is in place, you can get tourism earlier and save human life,” Miguez added.
“So the solution is not to surf,” he said. “It is for surfing in areas where there is a good beach safety program in place.”
Most unprovoked attacks are “test bites”, where a shark mistakes a human for a chosen prey, such as a seal.
When that happens, the shark usually swims away after one bite. Unfortunately, some shark species are large enough that a single bite can be fatal to humans.
Rarer incidents where a shark continues to bite a person rather than swim away have been documented with tiger sharks, bull sharks and white sharks.
Such a case involved one of the deaths in 2023, with a tiger shark on the shores of the Red Sea in Egypt.
“The bite in Egypt stood out because video shows a tiger shark taking multiple passes at a person in the water. Although predation events are extremely rare, it’s pretty clear that’s what happened,” Miguez said.
Despite the increase in shark bites, researchers say the number of bites and deaths occurring in 2023 is within the average for the past decade.
Each year, there are consistently less than 100 unprovoked bites worldwide. That means you’re even more likely to win the lottery than to be bitten by a shark, the researchers noted.
An increase in shark attacks often means more people are spending time in the water, rather than a significant change in shark behavior, Miguez said.
Something as simple as a holiday weekend falling on a very hot day can contribute to a spike in shark activity, and large schools of fish in a certain area can make that worse.
That combination led to the first known shark attack in New York City in more than half a century, researchers said. Improved water quality has resulted in more fish in the waters off New York, which often means more sharks.
“It’s a lot of fear, but the reality is you’re putting a lot of people in the water on a hot day with bait fish in the water,” Naylor said.
Although the chance of a shark attack is low, researchers said people can take extra precautions:
Stay close to shore.
Do not swim at dawn or dusk.
Avoid excessive splashing.
Swim with a friend, as sharks are more likely to attack single figures.
Remove shiny jewelry that can be mistaken for fish scales.
SOURCE: Florida Museum of Natural History, news release, February 5, 2024
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