Shark Attack Game Download
Buffy Romay
The International Shark Attack File (est. 1958) is housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History and is the only scientifically-generated database that documents and monitors shark attacks on a global basis. While most attack investigations are performed by ISAF staff as parts on ongoing research, the File benefits from a globally-distributed network of collaborating regional scientists who investigate attacks in their own regions (and in some cases maintain regionally-oriented databases) and cooperatively forward reports to the ISAF.
The ISAF staff regularly provides advice on shark attack issues to governmental agencies, coastal managers, beach safety professionals, the medical community and the media. Hundreds of information requests from the public and media are received and answered annually. Although detailed information on individual shark attack incidents is curated by the ISAF, these records are only made available to qualified research biologists and physicians for reasons of medical confidentiality and to protect the privacy of those affected by such incidents. Requests for access are made on a case-by-case basis.
The 2022 worldwide total of 57 confirmed unprovoked cases is lower than the most recent five-year (2017-2021) average of 70 incidents annually. There were nine shark-related fatalities this year, five of which are assigned as unprovoked. This number is in line with the 5 year annual global average of six unprovoked fatalities per year.
Consistent with long-term trends, the United States recorded the most unprovoked shark bites in 2022, with 41 confirmed cases. This is lower than the 47 incidents that occurred in the U.S. in 2021. The 41 cases represent 72% of the worldwide total. This is an increase from 2021 when 64% of the worldwide unprovoked bites occurred in the U.S.
Short-term trends show both fatal and non-fatal bites to be decreasing. The total number of unprovoked shark bites worldwide is extremely low, given the number of people participating in aquatic recreation each year. Fatality rates have been declining for decades, reflecting advances in beach safety, medical treatment and public awareness.
A shark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year, around 80 unprovoked attacks are reported worldwide.[1] Despite their rarity,[2][3][4][5] many people fear shark attacks after occasional serial attacks, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, and horror fiction and films such as the Jaws series. Out of more than 500 shark species, only three of them are responsible for a double-digit number of fatal, unprovoked attacks on humans: the great white, tiger, and bull.[6] The oceanic whitetip has probably killed many more castaways, but these are not recorded in the statistics.[7]
While the term "shark attack" is in common use for instances of humans being wounded by sharks, it has been suggested that this is based largely on the assumption that large predatory sharks (such as great white, bull, and tiger sharks) only seek out humans as prey. A 2013 review recommends that only in instances where a shark clearly predates on a human should the bite incident be termed an "attack," implying predation. Otherwise, it is more accurate to class bite incidents as "fatal bite incidents". Sightings do include physical interaction, encounters including physical interaction with harm, shark bites include major shark bite incidents, including those that require medical attention, and fatal shark bite incidents result in death. The study suggests that only in a case where an expert validates the predatory intent of a shark would it be appropriate to term a bite incident an attack.[8]
According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), between 1958 and 2016 there were 2,785 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks around the world, of which 439 were fatal.[15] Between 2001 and 2010, an average of 4.3 people a year died as a result of shark attacks.[3]
Despite these reports, however, the actual number of fatal shark attacks worldwide remains uncertain. For the majority of Third World coastal nations, there exists no method of reporting suspected shark attacks; therefore, losses and fatalities near-shore or at sea often remain unsolved or unpublicized.
Of these attacks, the majority occurred in the United States (53 in 2000, 40 in 2005, and 39 in 2006).[18] The New York Times reported in July 2008 that there had been only one fatal attack in the previous year.[19] On average, there are 16 shark attacks per year in the United States, with one fatality every two years.[20] According to the ISAF, the US states in which the most attacks have occurred are Florida, Hawaii, California, Texas and the Carolinas, though attacks have occurred in almost every coastal state.[21]
Australia has the highest number of fatal shark attacks in the world, with Western Australia recently becoming the deadliest place in the world for shark attacks[22] with total and fatal shark bites growing exponentially over the last 40 years.[23] Since 2000 there have been 17 fatal shark attacks along the West Australian coast[24] with divers now facing odds of one in 16,000 for a fatal shark bite.[23][25]
Other shark attack hotspots include Réunion Island,[26] Boa Viagem in Brazil, Makena Beach, Maui, Hawaii and Second Beach, Port St. Johns, South Africa.[27] South Africa has a high number of shark attacks along with a high fatality rate of 27 percent.[28]
As of 28 June 1992,[29] Recife in Brazil began officially registering shark attacks on its beaches (mainly on the beach of Boa Viagem). Over more than two decades, 64 victims were attacked, of which 26 died. The last deadly attack occurred on 10 July 2021.[30] The attacks were caused by the species bull shark and tiger shark.[31]The shark attacks in Recife have an unusually high fatality rate of about 37%. This is much higher than the worldwide shark attack fatality rate, which is currently about 16%, according to Florida State Museum of Natural History.[32] Several factors have contributed to the unusually high attack and fatality rates, including pollution from sewage runoff[33] and a (now closed) local slaughterhouse.[34]
The location with the most recorded shark attacks is New Smyrna Beach, Florida.[35] Developed nations such as the United States, Australia and, to some extent, South Africa, facilitate more thorough documentation of shark attacks on humans than developing coastal nations. The increased use of technology has enabled Australia and the United States to record more data than other nations, which could somewhat bias the results recorded. In addition to this, individuals and institutions in South Africa, the US and Australia keep a file which is regularly updated by an entire research team, the International Shark Attack File, and the Australian Shark Attack File.
The Florida Museum of Natural History compares these statistics with the much higher rate of deaths from other causes. For example, an average of more than 38 people die annually from lightning strikes in coastal states, while less than 1 person per year is killed by a shark in Florida.[36][37] In the United States, even considering only people who go to beaches, a person's chance of getting attacked by a shark is 1 in 11.5 million, and a person's chance of getting killed by a shark is less than 1 in 264.1 million.
However, in certain situations the risk of a shark attack is higher. For example, in the southwest of Western Australia the chances of a surfer being fatally bitten by a shark in winter or spring are 1 in 40,000 and for divers it is 1 in 16,000.[23][25] In comparison to the risk of a serious or fatal cycling accident, this represents three times the risk for a surfer and seven times the risk for a diver.[23]
Only a few species of shark are dangerous to humans. Out of more than 480 shark species, only three are responsible for two-digit numbers of fatal unprovoked attacks on humans: the great white, tiger and bull;[6] however, the oceanic whitetip has probably killed many more castaways which have not been recorded in the statistics.[7] These sharks, being large, powerful predators, may sometimes attack and kill people, notwithstanding the fact that all have been filmed in open water by unprotected divers.[38][39] The 2010 French film Oceans shows footage of humans swimming next to sharks in the ocean. It is possible that the sharks are able to sense the presence of unnatural elements on or about the divers, such as polyurethane diving suits and air tanks, which may lead them to accept temporary outsiders as more of a curiosity than prey. Uncostumed humans, however, such as those surfboarding, light snorkeling or swimming, present a much greater area of exposed skin surface to sharks. In addition, the presence of even small traces of blood, recent minor abrasions, cuts, scrapes or bruises, may lead sharks to attack a human in their environment. Sharks seek out prey through electroreception, sensing the electric fields that are generated by all animals due to the activity of their nerves and muscles.
Most of the oceanic whitetip shark's attacks have not been recorded,[7] unlike the other three species mentioned above. Famed oceanographic researcher Jacques Cousteau described the oceanic whitetip as "the most dangerous of all sharks".[40]
Modern-day statistics show the oceanic whitetip shark as seldom being involved in unprovoked attacks. However, there have been a number of attacks involving this species, particularly during World War I and World War II. The oceanic whitetip lives in the open sea and rarely shows up near coasts, where most recorded incidents occur. During the world wars, many ship and aircraft disasters happened in the open ocean, and because of its former abundance, the oceanic whitetip was often the first species on site when such a disaster happened.
In addition to the four species responsible for a significant number of fatal attacks on humans, a number of other species have attacked humans without being provoked, and have on extremely rare occasions been responsible for a human death. This group includes the shortfin mako, hammerhead, Galapagos, grey reef, blacktip, lemon, silky shark and blue sharks.[6] These sharks are also large, powerful predators which can be provoked simply by being in the water at the wrong time and place, but they are normally considered less dangerous to humans than the previous group.
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