2022 saw the lowest number of unprovoked shark attacks on humans in a decade, excluding 2020. In this respect informs Florida Museum of Natural History.
Since 2013, there have been an average of 74 unprovoked shark bites per year. 2020 was an exception as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented people from visiting beaches and traveling to resorts. In 2022, there were 57 bites, most of them in the USA and Australia. Five of these were fatal, compared to nine deaths in 2021 and 2013.
Most of the attacks took place in Florida, as in previous years. None of the 16 cases in Florida were fatal, although two were likely from blunt-nosed sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) required amputation. Also, a diver was bitten by a lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris), rarely attack humans. The incident was only the 11th known unprovoked attack of this type. There has been only one unprovoked attack death in the entire United States.
Nine confirmed unprovoked bites have been reported in Australia, and a single bite has been observed in New Zealand, Thailand and Brazil. The two deadly attacks occurred on the same day in the Egyptian Red Sea, where shark encounters are considered rare. South Africa, which is bitten on average several times a year, saw two unprovoked attacks in 2022, both fatal, most likely caused by great white sharks.
The overall reduction in bites by 2022 may reflect the global decline in the shark population.
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