For several years shark attacks on humans have been in decline, with cases dropping in 2018, 2019 and utterly plummeting in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns around the world. 2021 saw researchers record 73 unprovoked shark attacks compared to 52 in 2020, which is a huge jump. However, researchers have stated that the 2021 number is closer to the normal trend, excluding the pandemic.
2021 saw 11 shark attack fatalities around the world, of which nine are considered unprovoked. The territories with fatalities are as follows:
- Australia- 3.
- New Caledonia- 2.
- The United States- 1.
- New Zealand- 1.
- South Africa- 1.
- Brazil- 1.
According to Tyler Bowling, the International Shark Attack File manager:
“Shark bites dropped drastically in 2020 due to the pandemic. This past year was much more typical, with average bite numbers from an assortment of species and fatalities from white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks.”
You can find out more at the International Shark Attack File here.
