A single bite from white sharks and tiger sharks can be fatal to the victim (Getty)

Researchers have monitored an increase in the number of what they described as “unjustified” shark attacks around the world, and a slight increase in deaths in 2023 compared to the year before (2022).

In a report issued by the University of Florida on February 5, the university’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF) confirmed that 69 unprovoked shark bites would occur in 2023.

Egypt is a hotspot

According to the report, Egypt is one of the most prominent countries where the problem of deadly shark attacks appears. In September 2023, an Egyptian woman was attacked by a shark in the Red Sea city of Dahab, causing the amputation of one of her arms. A few months before this incident, a tiger shark attacked a Russian tourist in the city of Hurghada, and the attack claimed his life.

Gavin Naylor, director of the shark research program at the Florida Museum of Natural History and the lead researcher on the report, said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net: “Given the presence of many large sharks in the Red Sea and the thriving tourism industry with coastal resorts (many people in... Water), the shores of the Red Sea in Egypt are a hotspot for shark attacks.”

Naylor adds that incidents of predation in this region are rare, but when they do occur, they are fatal, as is the case with the Russian tourist, whose video of the fish almost consuming him in successive bites went viral. “When there are more attacks, it often means that more people are spending time in the water, not that sharks are becoming more dangerous. Increased human activity in sharks’ natural habitats increases the number of opportunities to come into contact with these predators.”

The vast majority of unprovoked attacks occur when a shark mistakes a human as its preferred prey. When this happens, the shark usually swims away after one bite. However, some species such as white sharks and tiger sharks are large enough that a single bite can be fatal to the victim.

Unprovoked attacks

Researchers define “unprovoked” attacks as any situation in which a shark is in its natural habitat and attacks without any human provocation, including intentionally approaching a shark or swimming in an area where bait is used to attract fish. Unprovoked bites are the most important in studying how sharks behave.

A shark attacks a small fishing boat in America (social networking sites)

“We are biologists, and we want to understand natural behavior in animals, not abnormal behavior,” Naylor adds. The report's authors said 10 of unprovoked attacks last year were fatal, compared to five the previous year, with a disproportionate number of incidents occurring in Australia. Although Australia accounted for 22% of all attacks, it alone accounted for 40% of deaths.

Two deaths were also confirmed in the United States, and one each in the Bahamas, Mexico, and New Caledonia, in addition to the case of a Russian tourist in Egypt. Other confirmed, non-fatal attacks occurred in Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, New Zealand, Seychelles, Turks and Caicos, Ecuador (in the Galapagos Islands) and South Africa, according to the press release accompanying the report.

The number of unprovoked attacks in the United States reached 36, representing 52% of incidents worldwide. Of these cases, two died; One is in California and the other is in Hawaii. As in previous years, Florida experienced more shark attacks than any other state, with 16 attacks.

Source: Al Jazeera + websites