Essay On Shark Attacks

Shark attacks are nothing new, but lately the cases of them have been increasing. However, it is not the shark’s fault for the rising number of attacks, it’s ours. According to USA Today, in 2001 there were 79 shark attacks noted around the world. Florida took first with 34 of the 51 attacks in the United States. Next was North Carolina with five, California at three, and Texas, Alabama, and Hawaii with two each. The additional 16 came from Australia, the Bahamas, and South Africa. Of all these attacks only ten were fatal to the victims (“A Record 79 Shark”). However, Gary Violetta of Sea World Orlando says “there is a much better chance of getting struck by lightning than being attacked by a shark” (“State: No. 1”). The problem is that media, vacationers on the coast, and lack of knowledge on sharks is what leads to the sudden increments in the number of attacks. In an interview with George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack Files, he states “it’s a media frenzy not a feeding frenzy” …show more content…
According to a map on a National Geographic article by Kelsey Nowakowski, Florida has been the most common place for attacks with 176 in Volusia County since 2000. Then there are states like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, Delaware, Oregon, and Washington with just one attack (Nowakowski). Florida is clearly a major place, because of the number of beach goers that means there will be more sharks as well. However, there are many ways to avoid a shark attack. For example: do not swim late at night or don’t swim in water with an open wound, because the blood attracts sharks. There are lots of don’t do’s, but some of the do’s include doing what you can to get away (Collins). If we can take the things we read about and learn on sharks and tips of what to do in these situations, we could make for less