Unprovoked shark attacks dropped to record low in 2024

2024 was an exceptionally calm year for shark bites, with only 47 unprovoked attacks recorded around the globe. This number was 22 fewer than the previous year and far below the 10-year average of 70. 

Among the shark bites documented, only four resulted in fatalities, marking a clear decrease compared to recent years.

Defining unprovoked shark bites 

The International Shark Attack File (ISAF), compiled by the Florida Museum of Natural History, serves as a repository for data on what it classifies as unprovoked attacks. These are cases in which a person does not initiate contact with a shark. 

Situations in which a person intentionally or unintentionally engages with a shark, such as releasing them from fishing gear or spearfishing, do not appear in these figures.

“We’re interested in the natural patterns of shark behavior so that we can understand why people occasionally get bitten by these animals. Any cue or attribute that modifies an animal’s natural behavior is something that, we as scientists, want to exclude,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research.

U.S. leads in shark encounters

The United States consistently registers the highest number of unprovoked attacks, a pattern that held last year with 28 reported incidents. 

One fatality occurred off the northwest coast of Oahu, Hawaii, caused by an unidentified shark species – the sole unprovoked death in U.S. waters.

With its extensive coastline and warm waters, Florida led the states in unprovoked bites, totaling 14. Of these, eight took place in Volusia County, commonly labeled the shark bite capital of the world. 

Although unconfirmed, many of these incidents likely involved juvenile blacktip sharks, which breed in the waters along northeast Florida. The juvenile sharks in this habitat have yet to fully distinguish humans from fish, stingrays, or other sharks, resulting in occasional mistaken bites.

Shark attacks in the Florida Panhandle

In June, the Florida Panhandle witnessed a cluster of shark attacks spanning a mere four miles. Three individuals were injured, including a woman at Watersound Beach who was bitten by a bull shark. Present among the bystanders were two nurses and a paramedic who helped stabilize her injuries until first responders arrived. 

In a separate incident less than two hours later, a shark bit two teenagers standing in the shallow waters off Seacrest Beach.

Bull sharks and tiger sharks frequent the northern Florida coastline but rarely enter popular swimming zones.

“You’ll see 20 to 30 of them patrolling the coast about 500 feet offshore, where they mind their own business,” Naylor said.

During the attacks, local dune lakes that usually allow freshwater to flow into the sea were reportedly clogged. This could have let schools of fish, which sharks typically follow, move closer to shore than normal.

Holiday weekend shark attacks 

As beaches become busier with both locals and travelers, the risk of encountering sharks goes up. Over the July 4 weekend, six people were bitten by sharks in Texas and Florida. Of those, five were deemed unprovoked.

“The South Padre Island bites were significant, with several incidents on the same day in the same vicinity,” said International Shark Attack File manager Joe Miguez.

Situated near the U.S.–Mexico border, Padre Island is the world’s largest barrier island, attracting considerable tourism. In one incident, a woman was bitten on her calf while swimming in murky conditions near a sandbar, and her husband incurred minor injuries defending her. 

Another man was bitten in the same vicinity, and a teenager received a smaller injury when a shark collided with her. Initial conjecture suggested a single shark might be to blame for these attacks, as well as those in the Florida Panhandle. However, experts see limited evidence to support that theory.

“We can’t preclude that it was the same animal, but what’s often overlooked is that the same climatic conditions that bring people into the water are the same conditions that bring sharks closer to shore,” Naylor said, implying that multiple sharks might be present under such conditions.

“This naturally increases the likelihood of human-shark encounters,” Miguez said. “In the case of the Padre Island incidents, it is much more plausible that multiple sharks were present in the area, responding to the same environmental cues.”

Surfers and other encounters

California experienced three unprovoked bites, including one incident involving a punctured surfboard. Surfers accounted for 33% of all attacks in 2024 on a global scale.

“People surf where there are good waves, and where there are good waves, there’s turbidity, and where there’s turbidity, there are often bait fish that attract sharks. The turbidity also reduces visibility in the water, making it harder for sharks to see. Some of them make mistakes,” Naylor said.

Three further bites were reported in North and South Carolina, rounding out the U.S. total.

International shark encounters

Australia typically has the second-highest count of shark bites and related fatalities. Of the 13 shark species known to bite humans, all inhabit Australian waters. 

White sharks and bull sharks remain especially common, although the white shark populations off Australia’s southwest and southeast shores have fallen from their presumed historical levels. While white and bull sharks inflict potentially severe bites, no fatalities were recorded in Australia in 2019, 2022, or 2024 from unprovoked encounters.

Ten other countries each documented one shark bite last year. In the Red Sea, off Egypt, a man lost his life while swimming outside a designated safety area. 

Other nations registering one incident include Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, the Maldives, Mozambique, French Polynesia, Thailand, and the Turks and Caicos.

An unusual case off Western Sahara represented that region’s first reported shark attack. A German tourist swimming next to a British catamaran was bitten, but it took several hours for a helicopter rescue crew to reach the remote location. She died en route after sustaining severe injuries.

In the Vaitarna River of western India, a medium-sized bull shark bit a man wading through the shallows. Bull sharks can thrive in freshwater settings and have been spotted several hundred miles inland, as pregnant females often travel upriver to avoid predators that might endanger their offspring.

Relative rarity of shark attacks

Even with these accounts, the odds of a shark bite remain extremely slim. The World Health Organization notes that drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death worldwide, while beach hazards like rip tides and strong currents pose a greater threat than sharks.

Ultimately, the 2024 data underscores a reassuring trend: fewer attacks, fewer fatalities, and enhanced insights into shark behavior to help prevent future incidents.

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