Researchers: Fewer shark attacks reported in the US in 2009; Fla. also saw sharp decline

Study: Fewer shark attacks reported in the US

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Good news for beachgoers: The number of shark attacks in the United States has declined, according to a University of Florida report released Monday.

The number of attacks reported in the U.S. dropped from 41 in 2008 to 28 in 2009, said George Burgess, curator of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida. Worldwide, the number of attacks stayed the about same, with 61 events in 2009 compared with 60 the previous year.

The number of attacks in the U.S. has declined in each of the past three years, though Burgess said it’s too soon to tell if that reflects a long-term trend.

More than half the attacks involved surfers, though the majority of shark-versus-human interactions are relatively minor, Burgess said.

“Most attacks are not of the ‘Jaws’ ilk, but more the equivalent of a dog bite,” he said.

The report also noted that fewer people die from the more serious shark attacks than a century ago, when about 60 percent of shark attacks were deadly. Only 7 percent of the attacks reported between 2000 and 2010 were deadly, likely because of advances in emergency medicine, Burgess said.

“We’re doing a much better job of keeping people alive once they’ve been attacked,” he said.

Other details revealed in the report, which is part of a shark research program, include:

— The U.S. led the world with 28 attacks, followed by 20 in Australia and six in South Africa. Other attacks occurred in Egypt, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mozambique, New Caledonia and Vietnam.

— Five people died from shark bites in 2009, compared with four the previous year.

Except for a death in New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific Ocean, the fatalities occurred in South Africa, where white sharks congregate in cooler waters, Burgess said. One of the victims was body surfing and one was paddle boarding. The other three were surfing.

Attacks in Australia were up, according to Shark Attack File statistics. In 2009, Australia had 20 attacks, compared with 12 in 2008 and 13 in 2007.

The same was true in South Africa; there were six attacks in 2009, compared with zero in 2008 and two in 2007.

There has been an overall increase in reported shark attacks in the past two decades, though researchers attribute that to better reporting of the incidents.

The report comes about a month after a 38-year-old kiteboarder was attacked and killed by a shark off the coast of Stuart, about 100 miles north of Miami. It was the first deadly shark attack in Florida in five years.

Stephen Schafer was surrounded by three sharks when he went into the water. After he was bitten, a lifeguard — himself a previous shark victim — paddled for about 20 minutes to reach Schafer and pulled him back to shore. He died a short time later at a hospital. An autopsy revealed he lost more than half of his blood.

The medical examiner said Schafer was bitten twice, most likely by the same animal.

In Monday’s report, Florida led the way in attacks — although the number of shark bites in the Sunshine State is down sharply, falling from 32 in both 2007 and 2008 to 19 in 2009.

Burgess said the one thing beachgoers can do to avoid being bitten by sharks is to stay out of the water between dusk and dawn — and to stay in groups whenever possible.

“There’s a reason why fish are in schools, birds are in flocks, and antelopes in herds,” he said. “There’s safety in numbers. It’s the same thing in the water.”