Florida has been crowned the “shark attack capital of the world” by the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF) based on 2023 data. The Sunshine State leads the way internationally for shark attacks, accounting for 44 percent of all recorded U.S attacks last year, and Volusia County saw the most attacks at 50 percent.
In terms of global numbers, the United States had 36 confirmed cases of unprovoked shark bites in 2023, representing 52% of the worldwide total. Although this is a slight decrease from the 41 incidents recorded in 2022, ten of these attacks were fatal, up from five in previous years. Australia accounted for a disproportionate number of fatalities with 40%.
Two deaths occurred in the U.S., as well as one each in Egypt and New Caledonia. Other confirmed non-fatal bites took place around the world. Gavin Naylor, director of the museum’s shark research program, noted that while the number of bites falls within normal range, he is concerned about the increase in fatalities. It is worth noting that shark attacks have been on an upward trend worldwide with most attacks taking place in 2015 according to ISAF report.
