It’s Shark Season. How Worried Should You Be?

Humans have been afraid of sharks since long before “Jaws” and “The Meg” patrolled summer movie screens. Whether it’s the teeth or the lifeless eyes, something about them can just make your blood run cold.

Marine biologists are quick to say this fear is way out of proportion. Lightning strikes and bear attacks are more common than shark bites, they say. Of the more than 500 species of shark, only a handful have ever attacked humans, and most bites in the United States can be traced to just four species.

Even in Hawaii, which has the highest number of recent shark-related deaths, you are at least 130 times more likely to drown than die by a shark. There were 36 unprovoked shark attacks in the United States in 2023, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History; they caused two deaths.

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But risk is a funny thing, and knowing the numbers rarely makes you feel better — especially after watching “Sharknado.” So this summer The New York Times asked a simple question: What can you do to make your chance of a shark attack even smaller?

WHAT’S YOUR RISK OF A SHARK ATTACK?

The answer depends on a few factors, starting with where you are and what month it is.

For example, Hawaii, which leads the country in fatal attacks, sees one about every other year, and the risk of bites more than doubles in October. Conversely, only two shark bites have ever been recorded in Washington state.

Here’s what we know about the risk of shark attacks on beaches across America.

Florida

Florida has the highest number of shark bites in the country. In 2023, there were 16 unprovoked incidents recorded (44% of the national total), but no deaths. In fact, no one has died from a shark bite in Florida since 2010. While encounters can happen at any time of year, they start increasing in mid-spring and drop off in late fall, with September seeing the most bites.

Most shark encounters: April-September

Most attacks seem to come from smaller sharks, like blacktips, which rarely cause serious injury. The worst injuries come from bull sharks. The East Coast tends to see more encounters than the Gulf side, and Volusia County, home to Daytona Beach, has an especially high number.

Long assumed to be man-eaters, hammerhead sharks live in Florida but very rarely bother humans.

Hawaii

Hawaii is probably the most dangerous state for shark attacks. While it has the second-highest number of recorded bites, many have been serious. In 2023, for instance, it saw half as many bites as Florida, but one was deadly. This year Hawaii has had a fatal attack.

An unusually high number of bites occur in October, which is likely related to the fact that pregnant tiger sharks congregate close to shore. Fortunately, that is a shoulder season, when the beaches are less crowded than in winter and summer.

Most shark encounters: October

Most serious attacks involve tiger sharks, but blacktips and great whites do swim off Hawaiian shores. Most encounters involve board sports like surfing, but snorkelers are at some risk, especially in murkier water. The island of Maui sees the largest number of attacks.

Hammerhead sharks live in Hawaii but very rarely bother humans.

California

California has very few shark attacks — just two recorded in 2023, fewer than New York and the Carolinas. However, because its white sharks are so big, attacks are more often serious. Of the 100 or so injuries since 2000, about 10% have been fatal. The largest white sharks tend to congregate near the so-called Red Triangle, around the Bay Area, from the middle of summer to late autumn.

Most shark encounters: July-October

Shark-tracking studies indicate that white sharks often swim near popular beaches, but most of them avoid people. Recent years have seen more encounters with younger sharks, especially in the south near Los Angeles or San Diego, suggesting that they might be less adept at telling seals from humans.

Hammerhead sharks do live in California but very rarely bother humans.

Carolinas and Georgia

North and South Carolina have seen several hundred bites over the decades, mostly recorded since 2000, though only one or two fatal attacks in the past 50 years. Georgia has had far fewer bites, and none since 2021. Most of the run-ins between sharks and people here are driven by warmer weather, which draws sharks up from Florida and people out to the beach.

Most shark encounters: June-August

This region doesn’t seem to be a gathering area for sharks in the way that California and Hawaii are — though, the area of North Carolina around Cape Fear does see some bites.

Blacktips are the most common culprits, but the more serious attacks appear to have been from tiger or bull sharks. White sharks do pass through, and have been implicated in older attacks going back to the 19th century. But in the past 50 years, there have been no verified white shark attacks.

New England

Seals and white sharks were once very common along the northeast coast of the United States. Hunting reduced seal populations — and the predators that feed on them — to dangerously low levels until marine mammals were nationally protected in 1972. As the seal population has rebounded, white sharks have returned.

Today, places like Cape Cod in Massachusetts see a healthy white shark population each summer. Recorded attacks so far have been rare, though one man died there in 2018, and another in Maine in 2020.

Experts theorize that encounters are often tied to younger sharks, suggesting they might be less adept at telling seals from humans.

Mid-Atlantic states

The eastern coast from Virginia to New York doesn’t see many shark attacks, despite having many popular beach towns. In the past 185 years there have been only 52 recorded attacks; one since 2000 has been fatal. In the more recent serious cases, bull sharks were most often implicated.

Long Island in New York is, roughly speaking, the northern border of the bull and tiger shark ranges. But there were no unprovoked shark attacks recorded here from 1950 to 2018. In the past few years, the area has seen numerous bites from juvenile sand tiger sharks, which often cause small cuts and may not even require a hospital visit.

Pacific Northwest and Alaska

Oregon and Washington see very few shark attacks. In the past 185 years there have been only 30 recorded; one was fatal. White sharks occasionally wander up here, but they do not congregate and seem to steer clear of people.

Despite having the longest coastline in the country, Alaska has just one documented shark attack — onboard a research vessel from a thrashing salmon shark.

Gulf Coast

The Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama sees very few shark attacks. In the past 185 years there have been only 62 unprovoked incidents recorded. Ten were fatal, but the last death was in 1962, in Texas. Galveston, Texas, leads the region, partly because the winds tend to make the water murky and beach fishing can attract sharks.

Scientists have tracked a single white shark here, but blacktips and bull sharks are more common. Tiger sharks live here but have never attacked.

SHARKS

Bull shark: The prizefighter of the ocean — stout, surly and stubborn.

— Size: 7-13 feet

Bull sharks can weigh twice as much as other sharks of the same length. When provoked, experts say, they tend to bite more aggressively than other sharks.

Fun fact: The bull shark is one of the few ocean sharks that easily survives in fresh water and has been spotted over 1,600 miles up the Mississippi River, as far as St. Louis.

Tiger shark: The “garbage can of the sea” — always looking for an easy meal.

— Size: 10-18 feet

Tiger sharks are among the ocean’s least picky eaters. They feed on fish, sea turtles, plastic bottles and the occasional license plate. They often hunt in murky water, but in clear water are generally unaggressive and curious.

Fun fact: Tiger sharks are known to congregate along bird migration routes and snack on exhausted songbirds crossing the Gulf of Mexico.

White shark: The king of the Seven Seas — and silver screen.

— Size: 9-21 feet

Great white sharks are cold-water fish that wander the oceans but regularly congregate to hunt marine mammals like seals and sea lions.

White sharks are ungainly and easily evaded by prey, so they rely on surprise attacks, often biting once and retreating.

Fun fact: White sharks are mostly loners, but when they do get together, they appear to be matriarchal.

Blacktip shark: The everyman shark with a Napoleon complex.

— Size: 5-8 feet

Blacktip sharks are smaller and often confused with dusky and spinner sharks that live in the same areas. All of them are lithe, with a classic shark profile, and hunt small fish like mullet.

Fun fact: Both blacktips and spinners can be seen leaping out of the water, spinning up to four times in the air.

Nurse shark: Just trying to mind its own business.

— Size: 7-10 feet

For these “carpet sharks,” much of life revolves around finding the perfect resting spot and sitting motionless for hours. Typically, they’re about as threatening to humans as an Ikea rug — but they do not appreciate being harassed.

Fun fact: A group of nurse sharks is called a shoal, and it’s possible to find piles of up to 40 in one place.

SOME ACTIVITIES ARE RISKIER

The other factor that most puts you at risk for a shark bite is what you happen to be doing in the water.

Surfing

Surfers are unquestionably the most at risk for shark bites. In the 2010s, about three times as many people worldwide were attacked surfing and doing other board sports than swimming and wading.

Surfboards can be confusing to sharks. From below, a surfer resembles a seal, and a dangling foot looks like a floundering fish. Moreover, sharks have a special ability to detect electrical currents to find prey, and a surfer sitting on a board can confuse them.

Surfers also tend to stay in the water for a long time. The countless hours they spend floating, waiting for waves, simply creates more opportunities for a shark to mistake a surfer for lunch.

Swimming and wading

Swimming alone in open water is another higher-risk activity, though attacks can also occur while people are wading or walking in shallow water. Many sharks, even large ones, can patrol surprisingly shallow waters looking for fish.

In Hawaii and Florida, snorkelers have had a number of run-ins with sharks. Most of the serious encounters have been in Hawaii and involved tiger sharks. A fair number of minor injuries are caused by snorkelers’ hassling of otherwise timid carpet sharks.

Kayaking

Kayaking and canoeing are among the safest activities in shark habitats. Of the few encounters on record, most led to a damaged boat — though several kayak deaths have occurred over the years.

Roughly half of the documented attacks involved people fishing from their boat. And the vast majority occurred in California, perhaps because of its size and the popularity of kayaking there.

Diving

Attacks on scuba divers are rare, but they do happen and are occasionally fatal. Many involve divers who are spearfishing or collecting other sea life. Sharks are often scavengers; it’s important to be aware of your surroundings if you’re carrying a dead ocean creature, especially after you surface.

There are steps you can take to avoid attracting a shark’s attention. Do not dive alone, and if you see a potentially dangerous shark, try to keep an eye on it as you exit the water.

Fishing

Fishing — from shore, on a boat or with a spear gun — can increase your risk of an attack. Anytime you are carrying bait or dead fish on your body, the chances go up that a shark will take an interest. And shark fishermen are naturally at risk of being bitten by their quarries.

It’s wise to fish with an experienced partner. If you are wading or swimming near popular fishing areas, you might be at higher risk.

Poking and manhandling

The statistics in this article mostly refer to unprovoked bites. But there have been reports of shark attacks from people feeding, grabbing, petting, kicking, chasing and, in at least one case, kissing wild sharks. These types of attacks seem to be especially common among social media influencers.

Provoked attacks aren’t limited to coastal states, either. Kentucky managed to rack up 12 shark attacks in 2006 after the aquarium in Newport opened a shark petting exhibit. And, at the Boat and Sports Show in 1996 in St. Louis, an underwater performer was bitten by a confused nurse shark named Bob. In all those cases, no one was seriously harmed.

HOW TO AVOID AN ATTACK

There isn’t a shark on Earth that sees humans as a natural food source; almost every unprovoked attack is from mistaken identity. So the key to staying safe is making it clear you are not shark food. Because attacks are so rare, it’s hard to be sure how effective certain precautions are, but here are a few that experts suggest.

Stay in groups

Sharks are skittish, and a group of humans is more obviously not food than one person.

Be cautious mornings and evenings

Many sharks, especially younger white and tiger sharks, hunt at dawn and dusk, when low light makes it harder for them to see as clearly. There are also fewer people in the water at these times, and sharks are more likely to wander toward shore.

Stay away from shark food

Avoid seal colonies and schools of fish. When fish wander toward the shore or seals gather on the beach, sharks tend to follow. Many beach towns will monitor fish movements and shark sightings and post advisories if either come toward shore. If you see dolphins and birds feeding, assume a shark is in the water, too.

Watch what you wear

Don’t worry about the color of your bathing suit — sharks are mostly colorblind. But they do see contrast and are always looking for floundering fish, so it’s good to leave shiny jewelry (which can resemble a fish’s scaly underbelly) at home.

Don’t worry about an open wound

A common belief is that sharks are drawn to open wounds and even to menstrual blood. This isn’t true. Experts say sharks are no more interested in the blood of land mammals than a spilled can of soda. And they can certainly tell the difference between a dying seal and a cut on your leg.

Please don’t play with sharks

It shouldn’t need to be said, but sharks don’t like to have their tails pulled, nor do they like being kissed. Just … don’t.

IF YOU’RE ATTACKED

Most shark attacks are quick: a sudden impact, and then the animal retreats. In the slim chance that a shark holds on, don’t think about which sensitive spot on them is best to strike; go for all of them. Eyes, gills, snout — anything you can find. Sharks want an easy meal, so struggle and cause as much pain to them as you can to get them to back off.

Sharks almost never attack humans twice, so focus on getting out of the water without panicking.

Many deaths from shark bites could be prevented with a little bit of preparation. Regular surfers might want to buy a marine tourniquet and take a wilderness first aid class. Some beaches now provide first aid kits for heavy bleeding. Familiarize yourself with their contents or carry one of your own, if you spend a lot of time in the water.

SO, HOW DANGEROUS ARE SHARKS?

The risk of being attacked by a shark is extremely small, but not zero. In Volusia County, the shark-bite capital of the world, you are twice as likely to be killed with a gun than injured by a shark.

Still, statistics like this are little comfort to families of those killed by sharks, and they might not put your mind at ease as you wade into the ocean. So here is what we can say: If a shark recognizes you as a human, the danger is almost nonexistent.

How do we know? Recent drone studies have found that white sharks swim much closer to humans, and much more often, than previously thought. In fact, if you are a surfer or regular swimmer, you have probably been near a large shark without knowing it.

Attacks are so rare because sharks are very good at knowing what is food and what isn’t. And humans simply aren’t on their menus.

Some people will never be able to go into the ocean without worrying about sharks. But as you head to your favorite beach, remember this: You are entering their world. The reason you are safe is that they just don’t care about you.

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