Florida kept its place in 2020 as the shark-bite capital of America
Florida, with its warm weather and abundance of beachgoers, surfers, kiteboarders and paddle boarders, held its spot last year as the shark-bite capital of America, a new report says.
The state’s 16 unprovoked shark bites were more than every nation in the world except Australia, accounting for 28% of the world’s attacks and 48% of U.S. attacks, according to the University of Florida’s annual International Shark Attack File.
Florida has 1,350 miles of coastline, second only to Alaska among U.S. states.
Although shark bites were down world
wide overall from 64 in 2019 to 57 last year, the U.S. still led all nations with 33 incidents, followed by Australia with 18.
It’s unclear whether the decline in attacks is tied to a drop in tourism because of COVID-19 limitations, or possibly the challenge of collecting data during the pandemic.
The UF report said many human encounters with sharks go unreported or unclassified each year, but 2020 could be worse because because law enforcement, healthcare workers and coroners were so focused on COVID-19 that some suspected shark bites may not have been confirmed.
The Shark Attack File investigates all human-shark interactions, but its annual report focuses on unprovoked attacks. the excludes bites in public aquariums, attacks on boats and while scavenging. The 2020 report counted 39 provoked attacks, incidents where humans are bitten after harassing or trying to touch, feed or free a shark from a fishing net or line.
Broward County didn’t have any shark bites in 2020, but Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties had one apiece. Volusia County, which includes Daytona Beach, led Florida with eight shark bites in 2020. Brevard County, which includes Cocoa Beach, had three.
Nationally, after Florida and Hawaii, California was third in unprovoked shark bites with four while North Carolina had three.
Surfers and other board-sports participants accounted for 61% of worldwide shark bites, according to the report, a slight increase from the 51% percent total recorded in 2019 and 2018. In Florida, swimmers and waders accounted for 26% of unprovoked shark bites.
Fatalities from shark bites were up worldwide in 2020 with 10, higher than the annual average of four. Australia led the way in fatal bites with six, followed by three in the U.S.. The uptick in fatal shark attacks is believed to be an anomaly.
“It’s a dramatic spike, but it’s not yet cause for alarm,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research program. “We expect some year-to-year variability in bite numbers and fatalities. One year does not make a trend. 2020 s total bite count is extremely low, and long-term data show the number of fatal bites is decreasing over time.”
To reduce your risk of being bitten by a shark the group recommends swimming with a buddy, staying close to shore, not swimming at dawn or dusk, not swimming around schools of fish or where people are fishing, not wearing jewelry and avoiding excessive splashing.
Evidence shows sharks don’t hunt people and most shark bites are mistakes that occur when sharks are hunting for fish, seals or other animals.
“They’re normally more curious than anything else,” said Tyler Bowling, manager of the The Shark Attack File.