Sharks are the reason why some people fear the ocean. You can just imagine how many adults fail to outgrow their fear of sharks because of the movies they watched as kids.
Unfortunately, shark attacks are not only for the movies, it happens in real life too. In fact, 2015 was able to set a new record for seeing the highest number of annual shark attacks in the world.
Florida is in the limelight as 30 out of the 98 attacks that occurred worldwide were noted in the state alone.
Interestingly, all the 98 attacks were unprovoked. What more, the number beats the previous world record of 88, which was set in 2000.
World Leaders In Shark Attacks
The International Shark Attack File reports that the U.S. leads the pack with 59 shark attacks. Such finding may be due to the abundance of coastlines, which are being frequented by increasing numbers of surfers, divers and swimmers.
Aside from Florida, other sharks' attacks in the U.S. were recorded in North and South Carolina with eight each and Hawaii with seven. Other attacks happened in California, New York, Mississippi and Texas.
The lone fatality in the country was noted in Hawaii.
Australia had 18 attacks and South Africa had eight.
Shark Attack Fatalities
Out of the 98 recorded shark attacks, six led to death.
Fatality rates for 2015 are significantly higher than in 2014, which only saw three cases. However, experts say the trend is still considered stable in terms of looking at the bigger picture that is the decade average.
Locations of shark attack deaths in 2015 include Egypt, Australia, United States and New Caledonia, with one fatality each.
The island of Réunion located at the Indian Ocean had two deaths. This brings the total number of fatalities in the island to seven since 2011.
Not A Surprise
"Sharks plus humans equals attacks," says George Burgess, the keeper of shark attack data at the Florida Museum of Natural History in the University of Florida.
Burgess says the numbers did not come as a surprise. Humans continue to grow in population hence; more people come to the ocean. Shark populations also exhibit increasing population. This means that there are more chances for interactions between species, rendering shark attacks inevitable.
Photo: Lauren Mitchell | Flickr
