Shark attacks in Texas and Florida fuel fear, but the number of bites is not increasing

Following the recent series of serious shark bites in U.S. waters, marine experts want to remind beachgoers that sharks are not the issue and that attacks are not occurring more frequently than usual.

But shark bites are more common in the summer, experts told USA TODAY, because when more people are in the water, there’s a greater chance a shark will encounter a human. And bites can be gruesome.

In Florida, two people had to have their limbs amputated after attacks in June, and last weekend two people were bitten in two days on the state’s east coast in an area known as the “shark bite capital of the world.” Last week, two people were bitten by sharks off South Padre Island in Texas. And on June 24, Hawaiian actor Tamayo Perry died after being bitten multiple times by a shark.

Still, such attacks are incredibly rare, and there was no increase in bites in 2024, said Stephen Kajiura, a shark expert and biology professor at Florida Atlantic University.

“There is no conspiracy with giant sharks where they suddenly turn on us,” Kajiura told USA TODAY. “The answer is a statistic, a numbers game. The more people in the water, the greater the chance someone will encounter a shark.”

Are shark bites becoming more common?

NO.

Gavin Naylor, who runs the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History, told USA TODAY that 2024 will be a “very typical, average year, no different than any other” in terms of shark bites. Shark bites have actually been “slow” this year until summer, he said.

The shark bites that have occurred off the coast of Florida and Texas in recent weeks are likely due to so many more people going to the beach to swim during the summer months, especially around the holidays, Kajiura said.

“Part of the problem is that people tend to exaggerate the number of bites in a short period of time and assume there is something bigger going on,” Kajiura said.

If you are injured or bitten by a shark in the water, the best thing you can do is fight back, Kajiura said, by hitting the shark in the eye or gills, which should quickly cause it to swim away from you.

Most attacks occur in Florida, Kajiura said, largely because the state is surrounded by water and many Floridians live on the coast. Last week, two bites occurred in Florida’s New Smyrna Beach, a location that regularly records the most shark bites in the world, usually about 12 to 15, according to Naylor.

In 2023, there were 120 confirmed shark attacks worldwide, according to Naylor’s Tracker. Of these, 69 were unprovoked bites and 22 were provoked bites. The remaining bites were boat bites and unconfirmed cases. The number for 2023 was six higher than the five-year average.

Official data for 2024 will be published by the International Shark Attack File in January 2025.

What attracted the sharks to the attacks in Florida and Texas?

Sharks swimming close to shore feed on baitfish with shiny scales that reflect sunlight in the water. In the recent attacks, there were likely baitfish that attracted several sharks to an area where people were present, resulting in bites, Naylor said.

When people are in the water, a hand or foot darting around in the sun can be mistaken for a bait fish. Shiny watches and jewelry can also attract a shark’s attention, Kajiura said. Swimming away from fishermen and being aware of large schools of fish can prevent an unwanted encounter with a hungry shark, he added.

Storms like Hurricane Beryl this month can also pull tasty food, such as small dead animals, into the water, attracting sharks. But studies have also found that hurricanes and the low pressure systems that accompany them often cause sharks to swim further into deeper waters to avoid the storm’s effects, both Kajiura and Naylor said.

Large storms can also alter the ocean surface, creating new sandbars where none existed before. At low tide, a shark will then be stranded on the side closest to shore.

Larger sharks cause more damage

It’s unclear what species of shark attacked Tamayo off Hawaii, but the other large shark bites this summer off South Padre Island in Texas and Florida’s Panhandle are believed to have been by large bull sharks or even larger tiger sharks, Kajiura said.

The larger species have larger, serrated teeth and larger jaws, meaning they are more likely to tear out a large piece of flesh, he said.

In Walton County, Florida, a woman had to have her forearm amputated and a teenager lost a hand and had to have a leg amputated. There were four miles between the two attacks, making it “highly unlikely” that it was the same shark in both cases, Naylor said.

“It is much more likely that the conditions that drove one shark near shore were the same conditions that drove another shark near shore, that there were a lot of people in the area on the same day and that the two independent events occurred in quick succession,” Naylor said.

However, most shark bites are committed by smaller sharks such as blacktip reef sharks, which typically only “pinch” humans and do not cause serious injuries, Naylor added.

“It’s always a tragedy when people get bitten because they were there to enjoy the beach,” Kajiura said.

Contributors: Taylor Wilson, Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY

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