What’s up with all the shark attacks recently? According to the
International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida,
the Carolinas have had at least 10 shark attacks so far this
year—seven in North Carolina and three in South Carolina. This
is already more than last year, in which North Carolina saw only
four attacks total for the year, according to National
Geographic. “In the previous decade, there were only 25 shark
attacks in North Carolina. And there have been just 55
documented shark attacks in the state between 1905 and 2014,”
says National Geographic. Clearly, shark attacks are on the rise
in the state. So what gives?
“Across the United States overall, shark attacks are on pace
with an average year, and the chance of getting bit is still
very low—an estimated one in 11.5 million for an ocean bather,”
George H. Burgess, the director of the International Shark
Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History, tells
National Geographic. But, he adds, “Clearly, something is going
on in North Carolina right now.”
“It’s kind of a perfect storm,” Burgess tells National
Geographic. Warmer air temperatures have brought warmer water
temperatures to the coastal Carolina waters earlier than ever
this year. North Carolina is also experiencing a moderate
drought, which means less fresh water has flowed to the ocean,
making the coastal waters more salty than usual, says National
Geographic. It just so happens sharks like warm, salty waters.
Add to that the fact that warmer temperatures are bringing more
and more people to the beach and into the water to cool off, and
that several of the attacks have happened to people who were
near fishing lines, whose bait attracts—you guessed it—sharks,
and you’ve got Burgess’s “perfect storm.”
http://ecowatch.com/2015/07/03/shark-attacks-climate-change/