Shark attack numbers have sunk to dramatic lows, likely a side effect of closed beaches and widespread quarantines, according to experts at the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File.

Summer Shark Bites Down in 2020

Only 18 unprovoked shark bites have been confirmed globally from Jan. 1 to June 18, down from 24 over the same time period in 2019 and 28 in 2018.

Seven of this year’s bites occurred in the U.S., two in Florida waters. Three unprovoked attacks resulted in fatalities, two in Australia and one in California, an increase from last year’s total of two deaths.

The ISAF experts have noted an unusual decrease in bites in recent years, with 2019’s 64 unprovoked attacks representing a 22 percent drop from the most recent five-year average of 82 incidents annually. But this spring and early summer’s numbers are an even more significant dip in the downward trend, said Tyler Bowling, manager of the ISAF.

In a 20-year comparison of bites, 2020 ties 2005 for the lowest number recorded from January through May, with 15 unprovoked attacks, compared with an average of about 25. Florida, which annually tops the global shark attack leaderboard, had tallied eight bites by mid-June in 2019 and seven in 2018.

This year, experts have confirmed two minor bites in the state thus far, one each in Duval and Brevard counties.

Written by Natalie VanHoose for Florida Museum