Don't swim in Florida in July: what you need to know about shark attacks on US beaches

Saturdays in July are the riskiest time to get bitten by the ocean's greatest predator, according to a new shark report that looks at big fish attacks over the past half century. USAToday.

Photo: IStock

Floridapanhandle.com compiled 47 years of shark attack data into a global mapping system that tracks all documented bites.

Florida has long been a shark attack capital, and Floridapanhandle.com's statistics confirm this.

US state with the most documented shark attacks

On average, about 100 shark attacks are recorded annually in the world. Florida, with its 1327 km of sandy beaches, has produced most of them.

The east coast of Florida is one of the most visited and popular beaches in the world, and the more people in shark territory, the more attacks.

Attacks on the map are marked with a shark fin, white for a non-lethal attack, and red for a fatal attack. There are so many fin markers on the east coast of the Sunshine State that they are practically stacked on top of each other.

But the attack sites stop near the Georgia line and do not resume until the beaches of South Carolina.

On the subject: In Egypt, a shark killed a tourist from Russia in front of his father and dozens of vacationers

Global shark attack data

In total, over the past 47 years, 1218 shark bites and attacks have been recorded worldwide, approximately 14% of them were fatal.

The vast majority of attacks are unprovoked (94%), while a small number of attacks (6%) are provoked.

A thousand respondents were asked if they were ready to be bitten by a shark, and 15% of respondents said they would indeed agree to a shark attack if it turned out to be a "cool story", but only if they did not receive permanent injuries.

Sharks attack and kill about 10 people worldwide every year.

The safest time to swim

According to the website, the safest time to swim is on a Tuesday morning at dawn in February.

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But overall, "the number of sharks in the oceans has decreased, which may have contributed to the recent lull," Gavin Naylor, a shark researcher at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said earlier this year. “Because some areas have recently introduced strict beach safety protocols, especially in Australia,” he said.

What are the chances of being killed by a shark

According to the site, it has been 15 years since anyone in Florida was fatally attacked by a shark.

The last attack of any type in the Lee Colliera area occurred in 2005 in Boca Grande. Someone swam there and was bitten by an unknown species. It was not a fatal attack. Also in southwest Florida, there was an attack on Siesta Key in Sarasota County in 2020, according to Floridapanhandle.com.

On the coast in 2000, a fatal attack occurred in Boca Ciega Bay in Pinellas County.

Your chances of being attacked and killed by a shark are 1 in 3,7 million.

Overall, the United States has the highest number of attacks (720) with a fatality rate of 6%. Australia and Africa report far fewer attacks, 261 and 72 respectively, but the waters in both countries are far deadlier than in the states.

According to the site, Australia's death rate is 23%, while Africa's death rate is a whopping 38%.

White sharks are the main biters

White sharks (sometimes referred to as great whites) were the aggressors in 177 documented attacks, 34% of which were fatal. Bullhead sharks came in second in the number of bites, with 175 attacks and 18% of fatalities. Tiger sharks attack less than blunt sharks (125 in total), but kill more often (30%). However, attacking species are generally unknown (692 cases).

According to the report, no deaths have been reported for the following five shark species: blacktip reef shark, baleen shark, shorttip gray shark, shorttail gray shark and lemon shark.

Sand sharks (three documented attacks, one of which was fatal) and mako sharks (11 attacks and 18% of deaths) rarely bite a person, but are also quite dangerous.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the sharks with the least potential for aggression are: long-winged sharks, red-winged sharks, juvenile sharks, Atlantic herring sharks, and dusky sharks (all with 1 documented attack).

Where do the deadliest shark attacks take place?

The southernmost tip of Africa has one of the largest white shark populations in the world, and mortality statistics from Floridapanhandle.com show that these waters are dangerous for surfers and swimmers.

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It seems that most of the attacks in South Africa are fatal.

Tips for Avoiding Shark Attacks

The chance of being bitten by a shark "remains incredibly low," according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's Florida Shark Research Program annual report. Certain measures can keep swimmers safe by reducing the risk of attack:

• Remove reflective elements.
• Avoid places where people fish.
• Leave the water if you see a lot of bait.
• Swim in groups.
• Don't swim too far from shore.
• Swim in front of the lifeguard.
• Do not swim in dim or dark light.

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