Shark bites spike in regional hotspots

The total number of worldwide shark bites dropped last year, but a spike in localized incidents sparked concerns from residents and government officials in some areas, including New York.

The count of global unprovoked shark attacks last year tied with 2020 for the fewest number of reported incidents in the last 10 years.

There were a total of 57 unprovoked bites in 2022, most of which occurred in the U.S. and Australia, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. Of the 57 shark bites, five attacks were fatal — down from nine deaths in 2021, and 10 deaths in the previous year.

Since 2013, there has been an average of 74 unprovoked shark bites per year. The overall drop in the number of last year’s bites may reflect the global decline of shark populations, according to researchers.

“Generally speaking, the number of sharks in the world’s oceans has decreased, which may have contributed to recent lulls,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s Florida Program for Shark Research.

“It’s likely that fatalities are down because some areas have recently implemented rigorous beach safety protocols, especially in Australia,” Naylor added.

There were 32 additional shark bites in 2022 that fit the International Shark Attack File’s criteria for having been intentionally or unintentionally provoked.

“Unprovoked bites give us significantly more insight into the biology and behavior of sharks,” Naylor said. “Changing the environment such that sharks are drawn to the area in search of their natural food source might prompt them to bite humans when they otherwise wouldn’t.”

As in previous years, the U.S. had the highest number of bites, and Florida again had more reported bites than anywhere else on the planet. None of Florida’s 16 unprovoked bites were fatal, but two — likely from bull sharks — led to amputations.

The U.S. had a single unprovoked fatality, which occurred late in the year when a snorkeler went missing along Keawakapu Beach in Maui, Hawaii.

New York had a record eight bites in 2022, six of which have been confirmed. Before these attacks, the state had only 12 reported unprovoked bites.

In 2016, researchers determined that juvenile sand tiger sharks had taken up residence in Great South Bay, between Long Island and Fire Island. The sharks continue to use the sheltered bay as a nursery, where they’re better protected from predation than they’d otherwise be in the open ocean.

According to Naylor, the majority of bites in Long Island were likely from sand tiger sharks that were drawn into the surf zone by an influx of baitfish.