Spearfishing Found To Be Most Common Activity Amid Increasing Shark Attacks

Experts said that spearfishing was found to be the most common activity amid an increasing number of shark attacks.

Deadly Attacks

They noticed that there was a spike in deadly shark attacks that have been reported globally in 2023.

It was also discovered that there was a disproportionate amount of people who died from shark bites in Australia last year when compared with other countries around the world.

The overall number of fatal incidents last year remained relatively low, but it was still twice the previous year's total, according to the latest report of the International Shark Attack File.

The University of Florida's ISAF, a scientific database of global shark attacks, confirmed 69 unprovoked bites in 2023.

Although this is higher than the previous five-year average of 63 attacks, the data remain consistent when it comes to the long-term trends.

Ten of the past year's unprovoked attacks were fatal, which was an increase from the year before, with a disproportionate number occurring in Australia.

Scientists noted that although the country accounted for 22% of all attacks, it made up 40% of fatalities.

Further, there were also two confirmed deaths in the United States, and one each in the Bahamas, Egypt, Mexico and New Caledonia.

Meanwhile, other confirmed, non-fatal bites occurred in Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, New Zealand, Seychelles, Turks and Caicos, Ecuador (in The Galápagos Islands) and South Africa.

"This is within the range of the normal number of bites, though the fatalities are a bit unnerving this year," Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's shark research program, said.

Unprovoked, Fatal

The US had 36 unprovoked attacks, which accounts for 52% of incidents worldwide. Of these, two - one in California and another in Hawaii - were fatal.

When it comes to previous years, Florida had more shark bites than any other state, having a total number of 16 attacks.

While ISAF documents and investigates all bites on humans by sharks, the annual report also focused primarily on unprovoked attacks.

Experts said these are defined as any instance in which a shark is in its natural habitat and attacks without any human provocation, which includes intentionally approaching a shark or swimming in an area where bait is being used to lure fish.

Unprovoked bites are the most useful for studying how sharks behave. Three fatalities in 2023 occurred at one remote surfing destination off the coast of southern Australia.

The Eyre Peninsula is known for its wild, untamed beaches and phenomenal surf breaks, and despite being challenging to access and navigate, it is an alluring spot for surfers.

Experts said that the region is also home to seal colonies and a high density of white sharks.

Based on investigation, surfers experienced 42% of bites worldwide, with swimmers and waders a close second at 39%.

Australia, in addition to its white shark populations on the coast, also has bull sharks in and around its estuarine rivers.

A fatality from a bull shark attack also occurred in early 2023 in a brackish river near the coast.