‘JAWS’ PAUSE IS OVER

Shark bites on rise

The number of shark attacks surged across the globe last year after dropping drastically in 2020 due to the pandemic, researchers said.

Some 73 unprovoked attacks were tallied worldwide in 2021, up from 57 the year before, researchers at the International Shark Attack File said Monday.

Last year’s total closely aligns with the five-year global average of 72 and comes after case numbers dropped for three consecutive years, including a drastic decline in 2020 that researchers attributed to pandemicrelated lockdowns and far fewer people at beaches.

“This past year was much more typical, with average bite numbers from an assortment of species and fatalities from white shark, bull sharks and tiger sharks,” ISAF manager Tyler Bowling said in a statement.

Eleven shark-related fatalities were tallied worldwide in 2021 — with nine of the attacks classified as unprovoked, compared with the annual global average of five, researchers said.

Three deaths were recorded in Australia, while two occurred in New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific. The United States, Brazil, New Zealand and South

Africa each had one fatal attack, researchers said.

Tomas Butterfield, 42, of Sacramento, died on Christmas Eve when a suspected great white shark bit him while on he was riding a boogie board at a California beach known as “The Pit,” according to reports.

The US led the world once again with the most unprovoked shark bites last year with 47 confirmed attacks, or 64% of the global tally. Florida continued to dominate that list, with 28 unprovoked attacks recorded in the state compared with 19 in the rest of the country. Hawaii had six such incidents, followed by South Carolina (four), California (three) and North Carolina (three), the data show.

Of the unprovoked attacks in Florida, 17 occurred in Volusia County, representing 63% of the entire state’s total. The county kept its dubious title of Shark Bite Capital of the World, which it has consistently held for more than a decade.

Surfers and people partaking in board sports accounted for 51% of all those who were attacked last year, compared with 39% of victims who were swimming or wading in waters. Researchers said the number of unprovoked shark attacks remains “extremely low” given the large numbers of people who get

into the water.