In 2000, the year with the most recorded shark attacks, there were 79 shark attacks reported worldwide, 11 of them fatal.[1] In 2005 and 2006 this number decreased to 61 and 62 respectively, while the number of fatalities dropped to only four per year.[1] Of these attacks, the majority occurred in the United States (53 in 2000, 40 in 2005, and 39 in 2006).[2] The New York Times reported in July 2008 that there had been only one fatal attack in the previous year.[3] Despite these reports, however, the actual number of fatal shark attacks worldwide remains uncertain. For the majority of third world coastal nations there exists no method of reporting suspected shark attacks therefore losses and fatalities at near-shore or sea there often remain unsolved or unpublicized.[citation needed][4]
The United States has had more reported shark attacks than any other country, with a total of 1,049 attacks (49 fatal) during the past 339 years (1670–2009).[5] 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.[5] Outside the U.S.., Australia and South Africa have had the most attacks.[6]
As of 2009, the ISAF recorded a total of 2,251 attacks worldwide since 1580, with 464 attacks being fatal.[6] The location with the most recorded shark attacks is New Smyrna Beach, Florida.[7] First world 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 attacks 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 from lightning strikes in coastal states, while less than 1 person per year is killed by a shark.[8][9] In comparison, 100 million sharks are killed every year by humans.[10][11][12]
Even considering only people who go to beaches, a person's chance of getting attacked by a shark 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.[13][14] In the United States, the annual number of people who drown is 3,306, whereas the annual number of shark fatalities is 1.[15]
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