Florida is the Shark Bite Capital of the World, According to 2021 Data

Florida is the Shark Bite Capital of the World, According to 2021 Data

Data released by the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) suggests that the rate may be a little bit higher as, Florida ranked No. 1 in unprovoked shark bites in 2021.

The annual report released by the Gainesville-based organization, give us these results

·73: Unprovoked shark bites worldwide

·47: Unprovoked shark bites in U.S. waters (ranked 1st)

·28: Unprovoked shark bites in Florida (ranked 1st)

·17: Unprovoked shark bites in Volusia County (ranked 1st)

·51%: Surfing, activity when bit by a shark (ranked 1st)

·11: Fatalities worldwide, 9 unprovoked

Researchers with ISAF, which is a division of the University of Florida's Florida Museum of Natural History, scour media reports for news of shark bites, include reports from field researchers and verify with medical personnel the veracity of the information.

The ISAF team investigated 137 alleged shark-human interactions in 2021 to confirm the 73 unprovoked bites and an additional 39 provoked bites.

"Unprovoked attacks" are defined as incidents in which a live human is bitten in the shark’s natural habitat with no human provocation of the shark, according to the report.

"Provoked attacks" occur when a human initiates interaction with a shark in some way, including spearfishers, divers that harassed or tried to touch sharks, people that tried to feed, unhook or remove sharks from a fishing net.\

 ISAF reports the odds of being killed by a shark are lower than 1 in 3.7 million.