Which U.S. Beaches Are Most Likely To Experience Shark Attacks? You’ve Likely Been There

While movies like Jaws have inspired fear in beach-goers for decades, and people succumbed to shark bites before Hollywood even got its hands on that movie script, it’s still true that shark attacks are far more likely to happen now than 50 years ago in the United States as well as some other countries. Why?

Some of it is population and ease of travel. More people fill beaches every year, which means, quite literally, there are more people for sharks to potentially feast upon. Many people who previously would not have had access to a beach town now do, as highways have become more stream-lined and the amount of people that make it a priority to budget for beach trips has increased. Media and media outreach makes it possible to disseminate information about shark attacks as well. Years ago, only the beach town knew about a specific shark bite; now the whole world knows instantaneously.

Climactic changes are another reason shark attacks are more prevalent these days. Because ocean temperatures have slightly grown warmer as time goes on, sea vegetation and tidal trends may have been altered, which causes sharks’ favorite food, dolphins, and seals, to venture further inland in search of food sources. Where dolphins and seals go, sharks are sure to follow.

Many myths surround sharks, however. While they are predatory, scientists have proven they much prefer fish and dolphins over humans, which is why they typically don’t eat an entire human. They bite the human with their razor sharp teeth, taste the human, and often let go — but not before the bite causes an arterial bleed or amputation of a limb that frequently kills the human due to massive blood loss.

While sharks are everywhere, there are “hotspots” that seem to pick up more shark activity and therefore make beachgoers more likely to experience a shark sighting or worse — a shark attack. These are not obscure beaches. Many are beaches that you’ve likely visited at some point in your life. Please remember that, statistically, you are still highly unlikely to ever be bitten by a shark — you have about a one-in-11.5 million chance. But there are some places where your chances are slightly higher because of dolphin patterns. These places are popular tourist attractions.

New Smyrna Beach in Florida is the shark bite capital of the world. In fact, the Florida Museum of Natural History believes that any swimmer who swims there has likely been within 10 feet of a shark at some point. While that’s beyond frightening to think about, there’s only been a few hundred fatalities — which means that most of the time, the shark figures out you’re not tasty and swims away.

Maui, Hawaii, has had 55 shark attacks, most of them tiger sharks, which like to feed on sea turtles, which are plentiful in Hawaii. Most tiger shark bites are non-fatal.

Vanderburg Air Force Base in California has a large population of the dreaded great white sharks because it has a large population of seals. Between 2005 and 2014, there were 31 shark bites, most of them to surfers, three of them fatal.

The very popular Myrtle Beach and surrounding satellite smaller beaches in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has become known for shark intensity. There have been 55 attacks since 2005, most of them from bull sharks, and most non-fatal. However, the University of West Florida identifies the South Carolina coast as the most dangerous in the U.S. when you compare swimmer-to-attack ratio, which may influence your beach preference when planning vacations.

How worried about shark attacks are you?

[Photo credit to QZ]