Shark Attacks Rose In 2025. Here's Why Californians Should Take Note

Shark attacks returned to near-average levels successful 2025 aft a dip nan erstwhile year, according to nan latest study from nan Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, published Wednesday.

Researchers recorded 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide past year, somewhat beneath nan 10-year mean of 72, but an summation from 2024. Nine of those bites were fatal, higher than nan 10-year mean of six fatalities.

The United States erstwhile again had nan highest number of reported incidents, accounting for 38% of world unprovoked bites erstwhile assessed connected a state by state basis. That said, it’s really a diminution from caller years, including 2024, erstwhile much than half of each reported bites worldwide occurred disconnected nan U.S. coast.

In 2025, Florida led each states pinch 11 recorded attacks. California, Hawaii, Texas and North Carolina accounted for nan remaining U.S. incidents.

But California stood retired successful different way: It had nan nation’s only unprovoked fatal shark onslaught successful 2025.

A 55-year-old triathlete was attacked by a achromatic shark aft entering nan h2o disconnected nan seashore of Monterey Bay pinch members of nan open-ocean swimming nine she co-founded. It was nan sole U.S. fatality among 25 reported shark bites nationwide.

It’s not astonishing that nan sole U.S. shark-related decease occurred successful California, said Steve Midway, an subordinate professor of fisheries astatine Louisiana State University. “In California, you thin to person year-to-year less attacks than different places successful nan U.S. and successful nan world,” Midway said. “But you thin to person much superior attacks, a higher proportionality of fatal attacks.”

The quality lies successful type and geography, Midway said. Along nan East Coast, peculiarly successful Florida, galore bites impact smaller coastal sharks successful shallow water, which are much apt to consequence successful nonfatal injuries. California’s deeper and colder waters are location to larger species, specified arsenic nan awesome achromatic shark.

“Great whites conscionable hap to beryllium larger,” Midway said. “You’re little apt to beryllium attacked, but if you are, nan outcomes thin to beryllium worse.”

Whether measured complete 10, 20 aliases 30 years, mean yearly shark wound totals globally are really very stable.

“The world patterns alteration only somewhat from 1 twelvemonth to nan other,” said Gavin Naylor, head of nan Florida Program for Shark Research.

Those yearly fluctuations are influenced by a operation of shark biology, water conditions and nan number of group successful nan h2o astatine immoderate fixed clip successful immoderate fixed place, researchers say.

At nan aforesaid time, world shark populations stay acold beneath humanities levels. Naylor categorizes astir 30% of shark type arsenic endangered, mostly owed to overfishing. In immoderate countries, including nan United States and Australia, stronger protections person allowed definite shark populations to recover.

Nevertheless, nan consequence of being bitten by a shark remains highly low. The study notes that drowning is simply a acold much communal origin of death worldwide — and, if it helps you slumber (or swim), nan information show that you are much much apt to beryllium killed by lightning than you are by a shark.