Florida Shark Attack Prime Time is Now

Hitting Florida’s beaches over the long Labor Day weekend is as traditional in the Sunshine State as packing away the white clothing after the holiday passes up north.

Swimmers, however, should take note: The tail end of summer is also the peak time for shark attacks, according to state statistics.

August and September are considered the prime time for attacks simply because it’s during these months that large schools of fish tend to be on the move. As those schools of fish migrate, the sharks that eat them do, too, explained TCPalm. Since the bait fish that sharks eat happen to swim close to shore, the sharks follow suit.

While peak shark attack time is now, experts say the chances of being attacked are very low. The east coast traditionally has a much higher rate of attacks than the waters off Tampa Bay.

The Florida Museum of Natural History keeps up with the numbers of unprovoked, confirmed shark attacks. Its current record contains data from 1882 to 2013. The number of attacks in that time period in the Tampa Bay Area are as follows:

• Sarasota – 7 attacks, none fatal
• Manatee – 4 attacks, none fatal
• Pinellas – 12 attacks, two fatal
• Hillsborough – 0 attacks
• Pasco – 0 attacks

Volusia County leads the state with 257 attacks, followed by Brevard with 114 and Palm Beach with 64.

George Burgess, who keeps the attack file on behalf of the museum, said this year will likely be on track with last in the number of recorded attacks. The state saw 23 attacks last year and logged 27 in 2012, Florida Today reported.

Swimmers can reduce their chances of being mistaken for food by avoiding water when lots of schooling fish are passing by, TCPalm noted.

There hasn’t been a fatal shark attack in Florida since 2010, but the summer of 2014 has seen several highly publicized attacks. The total number of confirmed, unprovoked attacks in the state between 1882 and 2013 comes in at 687. The number of fatalities is logged at 11.

See Also:

• Shark Bites Girl in Florida Waters
• Hammerhead Shark Causes Panic on Florida Beach
• Florida Named Scariest State in America
• Fisherman Bitten by Shark in Panhandle Waters