Florida Is The World Leader Of Shark Attacks Again, Report Says

The United States lead the world in shark attacks last year, and we can thank Florida for that, according to CNN.

There were 33 unprovoked shark attacks reported in the United States in 2020, making up nearly 58 percent of total unprovoked attacks worldwide, according to the Yearly World Shark Attack Summary from the International Shark Attack File (ISAF).

Out of the unprovoked attacks in the U.S., 16 of them were in Florida. That means the Sunshine State's cases accounted for 28 percent of unprovoked bites worldwide.

"For decades, Florida has topped global charts in the number of shark bites, and this trend continued in 2020," ISAF said in its summary. "However, the state saw a significant drop from its most recent five-year annual average of 30 incidents."

Half of Florida's total shark bites in 2020 happened in Volusia County, researchers said.

The organization said they investigated 129 alleged shark-human encounters worldwide last year, and 57 of those incidents were unprovoked shark bites on people. Unprovoked attacks happen when live humans are in the shark's natural habitat and don't provoke the creatures, they added.

ISAF also pointed out a drop in reported shark bite incidents, citing"widespread quarantines, closed beaches and minimized vacation travel in response to the COVID-19 pandemic" as possible reasons. They also noted more medical professionals were tied up with COVID-19 response, so they may not have reported as much attacks to scientists.

Photo: Getty Images