SHARK ATTACKS – ABACO, BAHAMAS & BEYOND

DATABASE UPDATE 2021

INTERNATIONAL SHARK ATTACK FILE

Over the last couple of weeks or so I have been getting a lot of hits for Shark Attack information. There have been 2 or 3 recent incidents including a tragic (and very rare) death in Maine, which may well account for this. The Shark Attack details I have accumulated and posted over the years are buried in an historical sub-sub-page, so to make things easier I have rechecked and updated the latest data resources and their links, and put them in a mainstream post. This is it.

DATABASE UPDATE 2020

INTERNATIONAL SHARK ATTACK FILE

PRIMARY RESOURCE

This resource is the portal to a mass of current, recent, and historical data, presented with authority and clarity. It provides undoubtedly the most comprehensive and accessible global shark-incident data of all.

Last year I included informative screen-shots taken from this site. For now I am confining the information to the most useful direct links. More work for the reader, perhaps, but also a better chance to explore and understand the hows, whens and wherefores of shark-related incidents – and how best to avoid the situation in the first place.

SITE LINK

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/

BAHAMAS-SPECIFIC

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/maps/na/bahamas-antilles/

“The 2019 worldwide total of 64 confirmed unprovoked cases were lower than the most recent five-year (2014-2018) average of 82 incidents annually. There were five fatal attacks this year, two of which were confirmed to be unprovoked. This number is in line with the annual global average of four fatalities per year“

MENU SELECTION

 Maps & Data    Contributing Factors    Shark Attack Trends 

What are the Odds?   Reducing Your Risk

For anyone thinking of entering waters where sharks live – eg scuba divers, spear-fishers, swimmers, boaters – with relatively little experience or knowledge, these links will be incredibly useful. Local knowledge is well worth having as well. A young friend of ours, an intern on Abaco, was warned against spearfishing at a particular location: “Fish there, you’ll get ate”. He did. He very nearly was.

“Humans are not on the menu of sharks. Sharks bite humans out of curiosity or to defend themselves”

The SRI produces a  downloadable Global Shark Attack File that provides:

• A downloadable incident log by country
• A downloadable incident log chronologically
• A world map of encounters categorized by provoked vs. unprovoked, incidents involving boats, air & sea disasters and questionable incidents
• To read any basic case report, open the Chronological file, click on the case number (column A) and the report will open as a pdf file

SHARK SPECIES (CONCISE OVERVIEW FOR EACH SHARK)

http://www.sharkattackfile.net/species.htm

BAHAMAS-SPECIFIC STATS

http://www.sharkattackdata.com/gsaf/place/bahamas

ABACO-SPECIFIC STATS

http://www.sharkattackdata.com/gsaf/place/bahamas/abaco_islands

Credits: All great shark photos – Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba; ‘Infest’ sticker design, Tracie Sugo

A FINAL THOUGHT