The 2017 International Shark Attack File has been released. Overall there were 88 reported unprovoked shark attacks in 2017, that resulted in five fatalities, which is slightly under the average for the last 5 years of six per year.
The year also had some interesting developments and the emergence of a couple of hot spots. Reunion Island had two fatal attacks, and the Ascension Island suffered its first attacks since the 19th century. Overall the US had the most attacks with 53, while Australia trailed in second place with 14 attacks.
According to the International shark attack files, an unprovoked attack is defined as:
“‘Unprovoked attacks’ are defined as incidents where an attack on a live human occurs in the shark’s natural habitat with no human provocation of the shark.”
It must be noted that despite the 5 fatalities and 88 attacks, there are billions of people who safely use our oceans every year, and conversely, it is estimated that humans kill over 100 million sharks every year!
You can find the International Shark Attack File 2017 report here.
