According to data he collected for the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File, Florida was home to a quarter of last year’s shark attacks — a scary statistic on its own.
And yet that represents only 16 unprovoked attacks out of a total of 69 worldwide – and the millions of swimmers who flock to Florida’s shores each year.
“So we know they have to be avoided.
But despite the long odds of a shark bite, the predators still carry an extraordinary reputation—probably not helped by rows of razor-sharp teeth or fictional killer shark movies like Jaws and a decades-long American cable television phenomenon. known as “Shark Week”.
A bite is like a “plane crash” — shocking but rare, said Bruce Adams, a New Smyrna Beach resident who remembers close encounters with sharks during his surfing days.
“It’s sensational, it’s selling a lot of T-shirts,” he told AFP, bemoaning the creatures’ bad reputation.
Meanwhile, some people are looking for sharks.
“You see sharks in movies and they’re scary monsters. But in the water they’re shy puppies,” he said.
In fact, amid plummeting shark populations — a 70 percent global decline since 1970, according to a recent study — the world could use more sharks.
“We should focus more on protecting these animals rather than just going out there and saying they’re coming to get us,” Miguez said.
