Are people on the menu for sharks? What do sharks actually eat?

Despite what you may think or have seen in movies, humans are not usually on the menu for sharks.

This stat might ease your fears. In 2023 there were 69 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks and 10 unprovoked shark-related fatalities.

Given the hundreds of thousand of sharks swimming in the water, those numbers are low.

So what do sharks eat?

There are hundreds of different shark species in the world. The kind of shark, its size and where in the world it lives helps determine its diet.

Watch Live: Panelists to discuss state of sharks in Florida waters

Since it’s not humans, what do sharks like to eat?

As one might expect, they mostly eat other marine animals, often targeting schools of fish.

Blacktip sharks have pointy, little teeth like needles. They are known to be fast sharks and use their speed and teeth to capture unsuspecting schools of fish, typically mullet.

Tiger sharks, which can grow to be up to 16 feet with the females typically larger than the males, feed mostly on turtles and seabirds. They tend to snatch things they see floating at the surface of the water, which could be a foot or hand dangling from a surfboard. But tiger sharks are not known to be picky and will eat almost anything available.

Why do sharks bite humans?

“Most of the time shark bites are a case of mistaken identity,” said Gavin Naylor, the Program Director for the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida. “Sixty percent of all bites are because of low visibility. Fortunately, they are like ‘oh my goodness. What was that? I’m out of here.’”

Blacktips are the most common sharks bites seen here in Brevard because there are so many of them in the area, according to Naylor.

If a surf zone has murky water, creating poor visibility for sharks, plus schooling fish - that leads to the perfect storm. Naylor said the shark usually realizes quickly its bite didn’t land on the intended target and swims away. The surfer might be left with a souvenir requiring four or five stitches.

It’s not unheard of to have bull sharks bite people, Naylor added.

“They are curious and tend to experiment,” he said. “They can be fairly confident and sometimes target something that looks curious.”

How much do sharks eat?

This has a lot to do with the shark’s size. They typically eat between .5 and 3% of their total body weight during each feeding, which usually occur once every few days, according to American Oceans. However, some have been known to go six weeks without eating.

Sharks go so long without eating because their stomachs need that time to digest the food.

Spitzer is a Trending Reporter. She can be reached at MSpitzer@Floridatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Do sharks eat humans? They typically eat fish, mullet