Shark attacks found to be infrequent on worldwide scale
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
Surfers were the victims in more than half of the 55 confirmed, unprovoked shark attacks worldwide last year.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
But that wasn't keeping anyone yesterday from going into the waters off Kewalo Basin in Kaka'ako, a spot frequented by surfers and sharks alike.
Tantan Yamaguchi prepares to take to the water to surf the "Point" just outside the channel at Kewalo Basin. It's a spot frequented by surfers and sharks alike.
"There are always sharks," said Dunning Holt, a 36-year-old Honolulu surfer. "It's not a big issue."
Kal Faurot, 41, of Punchbowl, often surfs off Kewalo Basin but had just stopped by after work for a quick swim. He was philosophical about sharing the ocean with large predators.
"If they're going to bite you," he shrugged, "they're going to bite you."
A 14-foot tiger shark did bite a Hawai'i surfer last year: 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton, who lost her left arm while surfing off Ha'ena, Kaua'i, on Oct. 31. The inspiring story of her recovery captured worldwide attention, but what may have been lost in the emotional fanfare was general awareness that shark attacks remain an extremely infrequent event.
In fact, the number of attacks around the world dropped in 2003 for the third year in a row, according to statistics released this week by the International Shark Attack File, housed at the University of Florida's Florida Museum of Natural History. Of the 55 attacks last year, only four were fatal.
There were 63 shark attacks in 2002, 68 in 2001, and 79 in 2000.
In Hawai'i, there were four shark attacks last year, none fatal. There were six in 2002, three in 2001 and two in 2000. The average over the past 10 years is three attacks per year.
Scientists usually don't get excited about statistical ups and downs from year to year because there are so many factors involved, but three straight years of decline suggests something is happening, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File.
It could mean there are fewer sharks because of overfishing, he said, and fewer tourists flocking to seashore resorts because of economic concerns.
It also could mean humans are taking more precautions to avoid encountering the ocean predators. "People are beginning to honor those warning signs and trying to avoid areas where sharks and man are more likely to get together," Burgess said.
Government agencies have been quicker to respond to attacks and shark sightings, posting warnings and closing beaches.
In Hawai'i, the state created a Shark Task Force to form a response plan after the Islands' last fatal attacks in 1992. Permanent shark warning signs have been installed at several beaches.
As in recent years, the majority of 2003 shark attacks worldwide — 41 — occurred in U.S. waters.
Thirty-one of those encounters happened off Florida. In addition to the four shark attacks in Hawai'i, there were three in South Carolina and one each in California and the Virgin Islands and at Johnston Atoll.
Elsewhere, six attacks occurred in Australia, two each in Brazil and South Africa, and one each in Fiji, India, Madagascar and Venezuela.
The four 2003 fatalities occurred in Australia, California, Fiji and South Africa.
Burgess said it's no surprise that surfers are the most frequent victims, since they spend more time in deeper waters and are engaged in activities that can attract sharks.
"The splashing of hands and feet kicking are real turn-ons to sharks," Burgess said. "They look like the signals of sharks' natural prey."
Because in most instances victims do not get a clear view of the shark and are unable to distinguish between species, the International Shark Attack File does not provide statistics on which sharks are responsible for the attacks.
In Hawai'i, tiger sharks are usually to blame; in the colder waters of California, great whites are largely responsible. But in Florida, there are a dozen species known to injure humans, Burgess said.
Even if they are infrequent, shark attacks will continue to generate intense interest "because there are only a few things on Earth that can do damage to humans in the natural world," Burgess said. On land, man-eating tigers and other predators can be subdued with a rifle shot or by other means.
"In the sea, no one has quite figured out how to deal with sharks," he said.
"We as humans have an inflated view of ourselves as superior beasts. Sharks haven't gotten the memo."
Burgess said marine scientists are more concerned with "man bites shark," as the numbers of sharks continue to decline from overfishing. He said 60 million sharks are killed each year and recovery from such overfishing is slow.
"It's pretty obvious people are annihilating sharks a lot faster than sharks are annihilating people, and that's the real concern."
The International Shark Attack File report can be viewed online.
Staff writer Karen Blakeman contributed to this report. Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
