Attack Statistics - The Last Century

The graph below clearly shows that the recorded incidences of unprovoked shark attacks has risen dramatically since the turn of the century. The reasons for the increase has to be viewed carefully, as it would be to easy to assume that the shark population has simply exploded, leading to more dangerous sharks in the water. The reverse, is actually more true, as many of the large, potentially dangerous sharks have been fished out of the seas by trophy hunters, sport fisherman and as commercial shark fishing increases.

So why is there more attacks ??, to start with the human population has exploded, and marine recreation has become more fashionable and accessible. The late 1950's and early 1960's saw a large jump in the number of reports, probably due to the sudden popularity of surfing. The invention of Scuba diving equipment in the mid 1940's has also allowed people to go further and deeper into the water, increasing the chances of an encounter with a shark. The chart below shows how the activity of the victims has changed over the decade, as surfing and scuba diving has become more popular. The apparent drop on both charts, in the 1970's and 1980's is probably misleading and is largely due to the inactivity of the International Shark Attack File in the recording of attacks during this period.