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Shark assaults elevated all over the world in 2021 after three years of decline, researchers have mentioned.
There have been 73 unprovoked world shark assaults final yr, in comparison with 52 bites in 2020, observers on the Worldwide Shark Assault File mentioned.
However the numbers may look extra dramatic than they’re due to the widespread seaside closures as a result of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the scientists mentioned.
Worldwide Shark Assault File supervisor Tyler Bowling mentioned that the variety of bites in 2020 have been the bottom recorded in a decade, and that the 73 seen in 2021 was nearly the identical because the five-year worldwide common of 72.
“Shark bites dropped drastically in 2020 as a result of pandemic,” Mr Bowling mentioned in an announcement. “This previous yr was way more typical, with common chunk numbers from an assortment of species and fatalities from white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks.”
There have been a complete of 11 shark-related fatalities in 2021, and 9 of these have been thought of unprovoked.
Australia led the best way with three unprovoked deaths, New Caledonia had two, whereas the USA, Brazil, New Zealand and South Africa every had a single unprovoked deadly shark assault.
Specialists mentioned that an unprovoked assault is one the place there isn’t a human provocation, whereas a provoked assault is when a human initiates contact with the shark, corresponding to a fisherman eradicating one from a web.
Florida once more was the worldwide hotspot for unprovoked shark bites, with 28 in 2021, in comparison with 19 others in the remainder of the US, and 26 elsewhere all over the world.
During the last 5 years, Florida has averaged 25 assaults. In 2021, as many as 17 of the 28 unprovoked shark bites happened in Volusia County, the place Daytona Seashore is positioned.
The one deadly US shark assault in 2021 occurred on 24 December, when a person was killed whereas bodyboarding in Morro Bay, California.
The analysis is run by the Florida Museum of Pure Historical past and the American Elasmobranch Society.
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