Unprovoked shark attacks on humans reach record levels

The number of unprovoked shark attacks doubled last year, a new global study has found. The spike in numbers saw 98 people involved in unprovoked attacks last year, six of which were fatal. Among those killed were one person off Hawaii, two people off the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, as well as victims in Australia, Egypt, and New Caledonia, in the Pacific Ocean. Surfers were the target of 49% of unprovoked attacks in 2015, with swimmers and waders accounting for 42% and snorkelers 9%.

As world population continues its upsurge and interest in aquatic recreation concurrently rises, we realistically should expect increases in the number of shark attacks and other aquatic recreation-related injuries.

University of Florida researchers

According to the database, which is maintained at the University of Florida, investigators found that of the 164 shark attacks reported over the course of the year 98 were unprovoked. It defines unprovoked attacks as “incidents where an attack on a live human occurs in the shark’s natural habitat with no human provocation of the shark”. George Burgess, director of the file, said that the 98 cases surpassed the previous 10-year high of 88 recorded in 2000. Though the number of fatalities was a sharp increase on the previous years, it was roughly in line with yearly averages for the previous decade.

Shark attacks