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The routine of unprovoked shark tone-beginning spike slightly across the world last year , with a high percentage being fateful , a new report reveals . However , these statistics do not show that shark attacks are becoming more vulgar , experts say .
In 2023 , there were 69 unprovoked shark attacks recorded worldwide where humans did nothing to measuredly initiate the attack — 10 of which were fateful , according to anannual reportby the International Shark Attack File ( ISAF ) , which is coordinated by the Florida Museum of Natural History .
The number of lethal shark attacks in 2023 was double the amount during 2022.
The identification number of attacks is slenderly up on the norm of 63 unprovoked flak per yr during the previous five years ( 2018 to 2022 ) , and the number of fateful incident was double the number from 2022,when five the great unwashed were killed .
The phone number of fatality " are a bit unnerving this year,“Gavin Naylor , a marine biologist at the University of Florida who runs ISAF , said in astatement . However , the number of chomp is still within the normal mountain range and does not represent a major change in shark behavior , he bring .
Just over half of last twelvemonth ’s unprovoked incidents occur in U.S. water , with the highest number of bite ( 16 ) in Florida . There were two fatal attack in the U.S. — one in Hawaii and another in California . Meanwhile , Australia had the highest number of fatal flak ( 4 ) despite record only 22 % of global attacks .
Researchers say that sharks are not purposefully hunting humans despite the attacks being classified as “unprovoked."
Surfers , natator and snorkelers were by far the most likely people to be attacked , accounting for a conflate 94 % of motiveless attacks . Most sharpness were from threesharkspecies ; bull sharks ( Carcharhinus leucas ) , tiger shark ( Galeocerdo cuvier ) andgreat white sharks(Carcharodon carcharias ) .
Related : What is the deathly shark attack ever record ?
While these attacks are classified as wanton , it does not of necessity mean that the sharksdeliberately lash out or pour down humankind . A large percentage of attacks are make by misguided identity when sharksconfuse humans with seal or ocean lion . When this happens , sharks normally only take a single pungency before realizing their error . But when they have such a prominent and potent bite , this can be enough to make someone leech out .
Researchers say an increase in the number of shark attacks over the last few decades is caused in part by there being more people in the water.
The ISAF also describe 22 provoked bites , which occurred when humans either advisedly or accidentally did something to trigger an attack , such as spearfishing or catch sharks in net . However , the report does not state how many of the chivy attacks were fatal .
In one of the most strange and macabre shark attack from 2023 , agreat white sharkbit and decapitated a scuba diverwho was fishing for mollusc in Mexico . This incident , which was pretty much unheard of among shark scientists , is classified as a evoke attack because the dupe ’s activity could have inadvertently cause the shark to attack .
compare bite statistics year - on - class is not a very precise way of assessing farsighted - term trends in shark attacks , experts warned . For illustration , last year ’s number of lethal bites was double the total from 2022 but the same as the number from 2021 and only one more than 2020 ’s total . So although the number of deaths increase this year , it is not an unusually high issue .
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When scientist take care at more long - term trend , the bit of reported shark bites hasmore than doubled over the past three decades . However , this is mainly because there are more people in the water and there is a large emphasis on people describe non - deadly shark bit due to wider public interest in these attacks thanks toshark movieslike " Jaws , " Naylor articulate .
Overall , the chance of getting killed by a shark is 1 in 4.3 million , according to theISAF . In comparison , the chance of being killed by lightning is 1 in 80,000 , and the betting odds of being kill by fireworks are 1 in 340,000 .
On the other handwriting , humanskill around 80 million sharks every year , around 25 million of which belong to jeopardise species .
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