Shark Attacks Surged To 11 Deaths, 73 Unprovoked Bites Last Year. Should You Be Worried?

Beachgoers beware - the number of shark attacks in the last year climbed as more people returned to beaches worldwide.

On Tuesday, the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), a nonprofit that tracks shark attacks around the world, reported that a total of 73 unprovoked shark attacks took place in 2021. It also recorded 11 fatal encounters with the most deaths recorded in Australia.

The U.S. led the world in the overall number of unprovoked shark attacks on humans with 47 cases. Leading the way among all states in the country, Florida was ahead of the pack with 28 confirmed shark attacks, followed by Hawaii and South Carolina.

There was only one fatal shark attack confirmed in 2021 in the U.S. when a surfer was killed on Christmas Eve off Morro Bay, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The fear of being attacked by a shark has increased due to negative portrayals of the fish in movies like the 1975 film "Jaws." However, sharks are not considered uniquely dangerous and the most dangerous encounters with them are usually the result of an accident rather than intentional predation.

This may sound like it is at odds with the latest data which showed unprovoked attacks rose from 52 to 73 incidents between 2020 and 2021, but the former was more an aberration than a genuine decline in attacks.

Why then is there such a difference between shark attacks between the years? Researchers say it is the result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the virus spread worldwide in 2020, beaches were among the first public places shut down to the public as lockdown restrictions went into effect. Put into perspective, ISAF manager Tyler Bowling explained that 2020 saw the lowest number of attacks documented in over a decade, but the uptick for 2021 aligns with the five-year global average of annual shark attacks, reported ABC News.

“Shark bites dropped drastically in 2020 due to the pandemic. This past year was much more typical, with average bite numbers from an assortment of species and fatalities from white sharks, bull sharks, and tiger sharks,” said Bowling.