The University of Florida released today a report outlining worldwide locations of unprovoked shark attacks last year.
And similar to recent years, Volusia County topped the nationwide list of most shark bites.
There were 69 unprovoked shark attacks in 2023 worldwide, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File , up from 57 in 2022; however, the number is consistent with the five-year average of 63.
Of those 69 incidents, the U.S. leads all other nations with 36; Florida leads all U.S. states with 16; and Volusia County leads all Florida counties with eight.
Shark bites in Volusia: Why do sharks swim near people? And why are bites rarely fatal?
The jump from 57 bites reported in 2022 is not an indication of a growing trend, according to Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research with the Florida Museum of Natural History. The number of bites every year typically fall between the 55-80 range.
“As a scientist I am somewhat surprised that they are as consistent as they are,” Naylor said of the annual number of bites. “These are natural processes, random events, which happen to be when people are in the water, where there are sharks in the water — I would think that the variance would be much higher. But in fact, it is remarkably steady.”