iStockphoto / Steve Hinczynski
Shark attacks are incredibly rare. This has been proven year after year. They’re so rare that there has been a movement in recent years to strike the phrase ‘shark attacks‘ from the English lexicon in lieu ‘shark encounters’ because it’s much more apt.
The Florida Museum publishes an annual study which, year after year, reveals how rare shark attacks are. And while last year (2023) saw slightly elevated shark attack activity it was not statistically anomalous and was on par with recent trends.
In fact, the only real outlier from 2023 was Australia…
How Rare Shark Attacks Really Are
Across the entire planet, there were 69 unprovoked shark attacks in 2023.
Of those 69 unprovoked attacks, 10 were fatal. Of those 10, 4 of them (40%) occurred in Australia. Meanwhile, Australia only accounted for 22% of the 69 unprovoked attacks worldwide.
The United States saw 36 unprovoked attacks, just over half (52%) of all attacks worldwide. Of the 36, only 2 were fatal. In the United States, Florida led the way with 16 attacks followed by Hawaii (8), New York (4), North Carolina (3), and California (2).
As a point of comparison, an estimated 180 million Americans go to the beach every year according to the Center for Conservation Biology.
Attacks Worldwide
Elsewhere in the world, only New Caledonia (3), Brazil (3), South Africa (2), and Egypt (2) had multiple unprovoked attacks.
Our annual shark bite report for 2023 is now available online. There were a total of 69 recorded, consistent with recent trends, and an uptick in the number of fatalities.
Full story and data: https://t.co/pg3uFDGNZJ
Summary report: https://t.co/K18ueW3rAO pic.twitter.com/CdfRJxbmt7
— Florida Museum (@FloridaMuseum) February 5, 2024
Of those who suffered unprovoked shark attacks worldwide, 42% were surfing, 39% were swimming/wading, and 13% were snorkeling/free diving.
It is nearly impossible to calculate the global odds of suffering from an unprovoked attack when you consider how many billions of people go swimming worldwide and only 69 people suffered attacks (global population is 8.1 billion).
At the end of the day, exercise caution in the water. Be aware of your surroundings, especially at dawn and dusk.