Are shark attacks in Florida increasing this year? That’s what the experts say.

A man was spearfishing on a reef off Key West when a bull shark swam up and bit him on Monday, just one of the latest shark attacks in a series of summers.

On July 8, a 14-year-old boy training to be a lifeguard in Ponce Inlet lunged at a shark that bit him on the right calf. On July 4, a 21-year-old man from Ohio was bitten on the right foot while playing football in shallow water in New Smyrna Beach. A day later, a 26-year-old man from Sarasota was wading in an inflatable boat on the same beach when a shark bit him on the left foot.

All of these incidents dominating your news feeds might lead you to believe that shark attacks are on the rise. But before you panic and start humming the tune of Jaws every time you go to the beach, shark experts say this year’s number of attacks is nothing out of the ordinary.

Stephen Kajiura, a shark expert and professor of biological sciences at Florida Atlantic University, said this year is comparable to any other year.

“Don’t let fear of sharks stop you from having fun. The chances of you getting bitten are so small, so infinitesimal,” Kajiura said. “If they wanted to eat us, there would be a bloodbath out there. But we are not on their menu.”

In 2023, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File examined 120 suspected shark-human interactions worldwide. It confirmed 69 unprovoked and 22 provoked shark bites on humans. What’s the difference between the two? Unprovoked bites happen when the shark initiates the incident, while provoked bites are the other way around.

These numbers represent averages over the past five years. Annual totals typically fluctuate from year to year due to weather patterns, human activity along the coast and other influences, according to the museum.

There is no official count of shark attacks for 2024 yet, but a shark tracking website offers a shark attack map for 2024 that shows there have been 39 attacks (both provoked and unprovoked) through July 10. Kajiura said that number seems about right, but the International Shark File has the best and most up-to-date information on the attacks.

Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Shark Research Program, said the official count takes a while because scientists have to distinguish between provoked and unprovoked attacks. But he agrees with Kajiura and says the numbers are normal for this time of year.

“I tell people, if sharks were targeting humans, we would have 10,000 bites a day,” Naylor said.

So why do sharks bite people for no reason? Kajiura believes that sometimes it is pure coincidence.

“I think what’s happening here is that people are going to the beach, splashing around and having fun, when the shark comes along and makes a mistake,” he said. “It sees the shiny sole of your palm in the water and thinks it looks like a small, shiny baitfish. It pounces on you and takes a bite and quickly realizes that you don’t taste anything like what we want. And then the shark walks away because we’re not its typical food.”

Florida is the state with the most shark attacks because its coast and water stay warmer longer than other states. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, shark activity in Florida waters is therefore highest from April to October.

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However, the locations of shark attacks may shift north in the near future.

Studies suggest shark attacks may be decreasing in Florida due to climate change and increasing in northern parts of the country. Kajiura has studied migratory blacktip sharks, which typically come to South Florida in the winter and migrate north in the summer due to temperature fluctuations, like the typical snowbird.

“We’ve found that as water temperatures rise and oceans get warmer, these sharks are moving farther north than they used to because the water further north is warmer now. So they can now get as far as New York and you can see them off Long Island, which was never the case before,” he said. “They also don’t come as far south, to Florida, as they used to.”

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.