Deadliest place More dangerous than sharks Species involved Type of bites (Pre 2013)
Reclassification of bites (Post 2013) Reason for bites Prevention Media impacts
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A shark 'attack' is
considered to be an incident involving a shark biting a human, however most shark researchers believe
that the phase is misleading and should actually be called 'a shark
bite incident'. Every year around 60 shark
bite incidents
are
reported worldwide, although death is quite unusual. Despite the
relative rarity of shark bites, the fear of sharks is a common
phenomenon, having been fuelled by the occasional instances of
serial instances, such as the
Jersey Shore shark
bite fatalities of 1916 and
the Western Australia fatalities of 2011-12, and
by horror fiction and films, such as the Jaws series. Almost
all shark experts feel that the danger presented by sharks has been
exaggerated, and even the creator of the Jaws phenomenon, the
late Peter Benchley, attempted to dispel the myth of sharks being
man-eating monsters in the years before his death.
According to
the international shark attack file,
between 1580 and 2007 there were 2199 confirmed shark bite incidents around
the world
Although
Australia is only ranked third highest in terms of global shark
bite incidents with 887 attacks, it is ranked the highest in terms of shark
fatalities, with 215 fatalities (accurate
as of 2012). The United States had the most
shark
bite
incidents in
2001, with 29 out of the 75 reported around the
world, but had no fatalities. In 2000, there were 79 shark bites
reported worldwide, 11 of them fatal. In 2005 and 2006 this number
decreased to 61 and 62 respectively, while the number of fatalities
dropped to only four per year. Of these incidents, the majority
occurred in the United States (53 in 2000, 40 in 2005, and 39 in
2006). The New York Times reported in July 2008 that there
had been only one fatal incident in the previous year. On average,
there are 16 shark
bite
incidents per year in the United States with one
fatality every two years. Despite these reports, however, the actual
number of fatal shark bites worldwide remains uncertain. For the
majority of Third World coastal nations, there exists no method of
reporting suspected shark
bite
incidents; therefore, losses and fatalities
at near-shore or sea there often remain unsolved or unpublicised.
The deadliest place on earth
In 2012 Australia
had the highest amount of fatal shark
bite
incidents
in the world with
Western Australia being declared the
deadliest place in the world
for shark
bite
incidents. Australia and South Africa's fatality rate for
shark bites is approximately 30 percent. The United States has the
highest reported amount of shark bites but has the lowest fatality
rate with around 4 percent of those biten dying. The United
States has had a total of 1,085 incidents
(44 fatal) during the past
342 years (1670–2012). According to the International Shark Attack
File, the states in the U.S. where the most attacks have occurred in
are Florida, Hawaii, California, Texas, and the Carolinas, though
attacks have occurred in almost every coastal state. South Africa
has a high number of shark
bite
incidents
along with a high fatality rate
of 27 percent.
As of 2010,
the ISAF
recorded a total of 2,320 unprovoked shark
bite
incidents worldwide since
1580, with 447 bites being fatal. The location with the most
recorded shark
bite
incidents is New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Western nations such as the United States, Australia, both high
income countries, and to some extent South Africa, an upper middle
income country, facilitate more thorough documentation of shark
bites on humans than poorer coastal countries.
The Florida
Museum of Natural History compares these statistics with the much
higher rate of deaths from other, less feared causes. For example,
an average of more than 38 people die annually (in the United
States) from
lightning
strikes, while less than 1 person per year is
killed by a shark (in the United States). In comparison, up
73 million sharks are killed
every year by humans.
Even
considering only people who go to beaches, a person's chance of
getting biten by a shark in the US is 1 in 11.5 million, and a
person's chance of getting killed by a shark is less than 1 in 264.1
million. Worldwide approximately
2000 people die each year from drowning, whereas the annual
number of shark fatalities is 1.
Species
involved in incidents
Contrary to
popular belief, only a few sharks are considered to be dangerous to humans. Out of
more than 450 shark species, only four have been involved in a
significant number of fatal unprovoked attacks on humans: the great
white, tiger, bull and the oceanic whitetip. These sharks, being
large, powerful predators, may sometimes bite and kill people;
however, they have all been filmed in open water by unprotected
divers, without incident. The 2010 French film
Oceans shows footage of humans
swimming next to sharks deep in the ocean. It is possible that the
sharks are able to sense the presence of unnatural elements on or
about the divers, such as polyurethane diving suits and air tanks,
which may lead them to accept temporary outsiders as more of a
curiosity than prey. Uncostumed humans, however, such as those
surfboarding, snorkellers, or swimmers, present a much greater area
of open meaty flesh to carnivorous shark predators. Some sharks such as the Hammerhead shark seek out
prey through electroreception, sensing the electric fields that are
generated by all animals due to the activity of their nerves and
muscles. Most of the
oceanic whitetip shark attacks have not been
recorded,
unlike the other three species mentioned above. Famed oceanographic
researcher Jacques Cousteau described the oceanic whitetip as "the
most dangerous of all sharks".
Modern-day
statistics show the oceanic whitetip shark as being seldom involved
in unprovoked incidents. However, there have been a number of bites
involving this species, particularly during World War I and World
War II. The oceanic whitetip lives in the open sea and rarely shows
up near coasts, where most recorded incidents occur. During the
world wars, many ship and aircraft disasters happened in the open
ocean, and due to its former abundance, the oceanic whitetip was
often the first species on site when such a disaster happened.
Infamous
examples of oceanic whitetip bites include the sinking of the
Nova Scotia, a steamship carrying 1000 people, that was sunk
near South Africa by a German submarine in World War II. Only 192
people survived, with many deaths attributed to the oceanic whitetip
shark (although unconfirmed). The same species is thought to be responsible for many of the 60–80
deaths following the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis on 30 July 1945
with tiger sharks also thought to be involved.
In addition
to the four species responsible for a significant number of fatal
bites on humans, a number of other species have biten humans
without being provoked, and have on extremely rare occasions been
responsible for a human death. This group includes the shortfin
mako, hammerhead, Galapagos, gray reef, blacktip reef, lemon, silky,
and blue sharks. These sharks are also large, powerful predators
which can be provoked simply by being in the water at the wrong time
and place, but they are normally considered less dangerous to humans
than the previous species mentioned.
A few other
shark species do bite people every year, producing wounds that can
potentially kill, but this occurs either specifically because they
have been provoked, or through mistaken identity due to water
conditions or the like.
In the
evening of 16 March 2009, a new addition was made to the list of
sharks known to bite humans. In a painful but not directly
life-threatening incident, a long-distance swimmer crossing the Alenuihaha Channel between the islands of Hawaii and Maui was
biten by a
cookiecutter shark. The 2 bites, delivered about 15
seconds apart, were not immediately life-threatening.
Type of
Before 20122 scientists
had defined two types of shark bite incidents, one of which has three
subcategories:
Provoked incident: the human touches the shark, pokes it,
teases it, or otherwise aggravates/provokes it in some way.
Unprovoked incident:
Hit-and-run
bite – Usually non-fatal, the shark bites and then leaves;
most victims do not see the shark.
Sneak bite
– Victim will not usually see the shark, and they may receive
repeated deep bites. This is the most fatal kind of shark
bite.
Bump-and-bite – The shark bumps before biting and then
normally swims away.
There are few phrases in
the Western world that evoke as much emotion or as powerful an image
as the words
“shark”
and
“attack.”
However, not all
“shark attacks”
are created equal.
In a
2013 study, the
authors proposed new descriptive labels for shark ‘attacks’ based on
the different outcomes associated with specific human–shark
interactions, including sightings, encounters, bites, and the rare
cases of fatal bites.
Shark sightings:
Sightings of sharks in the water in proximity to people. No physical
human–shark contact takes place.
Shark encounters:
Human-shark interactions in which physical contact occurs between a
shark and a person, or an inanimate object holding that person, and
no injury takes place. For example, shark bites on surfboards,
kayaks, and boats would be classified under this label. In some
cases, this might include close calls; a shark physically
“bumping”
a swimmer without biting
would be labeled a shark encounter, not a shark attack. A minor
abrasion on the person’s skin might occur as a result of contact
with the rough skin of the shark.
Shark bites:
Incidents where sharks bite people resulting in minor to moderate
injuries. Small or large sharks might be involved, but typically, a
single, nonfatal bite occurs. If more than one bite occurs, injuries
might be serious. Under this category, the term
“shark attack”
should never be used unless the motivation and intent
of the animal—such as predation or defense—are clearly established by qualified experts. Since
that is rarely the case, these incidents should be treated as cases
of shark
“bites”
rather than shark
“attacks.”
Fatal shark bites: Human–shark conflicts in which serious injuries take place as a result of one or more bites on a person, causing a significant loss of blood and/or body tissue and a fatal outcome. Again, we strongly caution against using the term “shark attack” unless the motivation and intent of the shark are clearly established by experts, which is rarely the case. Until new scientific information appears that better explains the physical, chemical, and biological triggers leading sharks to bite humans, we recommend that the term “shark attack” be avoided by scientists, government officials, the media, and the public in almost all incidences of human–shark interaction.
Reasons for shark bite incidents
Large sharks
species are apex predators in their environment, and thus have
little fear of any creature they cross paths with. Like most
sophisticated hunters, they are curious when they encounter
something unusual in their territories. Lacking any limbs with
sensitive digits such as hands or feet, the only way they can
explore an object or organism is to bite it; these bites are known
as exploratory bites. Generally, shark bites are exploratory, and
the animal will swim away after one bite. For example, exploratory
bites on surfers are thought to be caused by the shark
mistaking the
surfer for the shape of prey. Nonetheless, a single bite can
grievously injure a human if the animal involved is a powerful
predator like a great white or tiger shark.
Despite a
few rare exceptions, it is thought that feeding is not a
reason sharks bite humans. In fact, humans don't provide enough
high-fat meat for sharks, which need a lot of energy to power their
large, muscular bodies.
Sharks
normally make one swift strike and then retreat after realising that
a human being is not a suitable prey item and may actually do them
harm to consume. This is why you very rarely hear of sharks actually
eating people. This allows humans time to get out of the water and
hopefully survive if they haven't lost too much blood. Shark attacks may also occur due to territorial reasons or
as dominance over another shark species, resulting in an attack.
Sharks are
equipped with sensory organs called the Ampullae of Lorenzini that
detect the electricity generated by muscle movement;
another theory is that the shark's electrical receptors, which pick
up movement, pick up the signals like those emitted by wounded fish
from someone who is fishing or spearfishing, and thus come close to
find the prey fish and instead end up biting the
person by mistake.
George
Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File, said the
following regarding why people are bitten by sharks: "Attacks are basically
an odds game based on how many hours you are in the water".
Prevention
While there
is no way to completely eliminate the possibility of a shark bite
incident when one is in the water, one may take precautions, such as:
Avoiding the
water at dawn, dusk, or night, when sharks tend to feed;
Avoiding
areas where sharks generally locate themselves, such as murky
waters and steep drop-offs
Avoiding
swimming alone, always being near a group of people, and if
possible, avoiding being at the edge of the group;
Refraining
from excess splashing or movement;
Preventing
pets from entering the water;
Avoiding
shiny jewellery, tan lines and bright clothing, all of which can
attract sharks;
Avoiding
entering water if bleeding from an open wound or if
menstruating;
Avoiding
areas where prey animals of sharks live, for instance seals;
Avoiding
areas where the remains of fish have been discarded into the
water, such as near fishermen cleaning their catch.
Sharks may
bite in 2-3 feet of water, so remember to stay closer to shore than
that in shark-infested waters.
Media
impacts
The effect
the media has on the population's view of shark bites has
generally been negative. Using such theories as the
cultivation
theory and the effects of
mean world syndrome, it is simple to see
how such media as television and movies can quickly affect a
person’s view. Starting with the effects generated from news
broadcasts, a shark bite is quickly broadcast across the country,
particularly if fatal, even though more people die from random
occurrences such as lightning strikes than from a shark bite. This
will bring the fear of a shark bite to life as it becomes a
reality for many that hear of a particular incident. This heightened
state of unnecessary fear is accredited to the sometimes negative
portrayal of sharks through television and motion pictures. Films
such as Jaws were the cause of large-scale hunting and
killing of thousands of sharks. There are some television shows,
such as the famous Shark Week, that are dedicated to the
preservation of these animals. They are able to prove through
scientific studies that sharks are not interested in eating
humans and generally mistake humans as prey. It is, however, a
mixture of these media exposures that keep many people out of the
water for fear of a shark 'attack'.
Useful Sources of Information
"Latest Figures".
Taronga Conservation Society Australia. 2011-10-12. Retrieved
2012-02-16.
http://www.sharkattackfile.net/incidentlog.htm
"ISAF Statistics
for the Top Ten Worldwide Locations with the Highest Shark Attack
Activity (1999–2009)".
Florida Museum of
Natural History Flmnh.ufl.edu.
2010-03-25. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
"ISAF Statistics
for the USA Locations with the Highest Shark Attack Activity Since
1999".
Flmnh.ufl.edu. 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0613_050613_sharkfacts.html
"Map of United
States (incl. Hawaii) Confirmed Unprovoked Shark Attacks".
Flmnh.ufl.edu. 2010-08-26. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
"Map of World's
Confirmed Unprovoked Shark Attacks".
Flmnh.ufl.edu. 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
"North America's
top shark-attack beaches". USA
Today. 21 April 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
"The Relative
Risk of Shark Attacks to Humans".
Flmnh.ufl.edu. Retrieved
2010-09-23.
"Reducing the
Risk of a Shark Encounter: Advice to Aquatic Recreationists".
Flmnh.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-23.