2012 US Shark Attacks Highest Since 2000

Shark attacks in the U.S. reached a decade high in 2012, compared to that the worldwide attacks remained average, reports University of Florida's International Shark Attack file report.

In 2000, the number of attacks U.S. witnessed was 53, there were seven fatalities worldwide, lower than 2011 but definitely higher than the yearly average of 4.4 from 2001 to 2010.

Florida led with the number of attacks with, followed by Hawaii (10), California (5), South Carolina (5), North Carolina (2), Georgia, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon one each and one of the attacks in California was fatal.

According to the report, nearly eighty unprovoked attacks occurred worldwide, a slight up from 2011. The highest number of shark bites, 42, occurred in North America.

"The numbers from an international standpoint were on target for the last couple of years because, in theory, each year we should have more attacks than the previous year owing to the rise of human population from year to year," George Burgess, director of the file housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus said.

He states that shark attacks are not multiplying, Shark attack is a very rare phenomenon, taking into consideration the amount of time humans spend in the water each year.

Nearly 60 percent of the shark attacks were experienced by surfers while swimmers were affected by 22 percent of the attacks. Least affected were divers with just 8 percent.

According to Burgess, nearly 30-70 million sharks are being killed every year to meet the growing demand for their flesh and fins, considered a delicacy. And people should realize that humans are a greater threat to sharks than sharks to humans.