U.S. sees increase in shark attacks Published: Monday, February
11, 2013 at 9:37 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, February 11, 2013
at 9:37 p.m. Shark attacks in the U.S. increased last year, and
Florida led the way, claiming nearly half of those attacks. But
don't panic — that could actually be a good sign, said
scientists who released a report Monday on worldwide shark
attacks. According to the University of Florida's International
Shark Attack File, out of 80 shark attacks worldwide last year,
53 occurred in the U.S. — the most since 2000. Florida had 26 of
them, with most in Volusia and Brevard counties because of the
high surfing activity there. George Burgess, the director of the
Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of
Natural History, said these numbers follow a typical pattern.
"Florida, with this extremely long coastline, warm to
subtropical climate, large population, and of course a massive
tourism base, means that we put lots of people into the water
year-round," Burgess said. "The o