International Shark Attack File notes 98 unprovoked shark attacks – including six fatalities – with US, Australia and South Africa witnessing highest numbers Sharks attacked people 98 times in 2015, a spike in unprovoked attacks that set a new record as human populations rise, researchers found in an annual global tally released on Monday.Six people were killed by sharks, including a snorkeler in Hawaii. Two deaths were recorded off the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, and shark attack victims also died in Australia, Egypt and New Caledonia, according to data submitted by scientists worldwide.
While last year saw twice as many fatal attacks as 2014, the number of deadly encounters was roughly on par with the past decade’s average, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File. Maintained at the University of Florida, the database was established in 1958.
The International Shark Attack File said it had investigated 164 incidents worldwide in 2015, and found 98 to be cases of unprovoked shark attacks on humans.
