On July 4, during the celebrations for the United States Independence Day, four people were bitten by sharks on beaches in Texas and Florida. On Padre Island, near the city of Brownsville, in southern Texas, a shark measuring about 1.8 meters long attacked three individuals, leaving one of them with “a serious bite” on the leg. Two of the victims were taken to a local hospital. The local fire chief, Jim Pigg, informed local media that the shark was later located and “pushed into deeper waters.” “This is unprecedented here on Padre Island,” Pigg added in reference to the attack.
Local authorities were alerted that a man had been bitten by a shark around 11 a.m. The man was initially treated on the beach on South Padre Island by firefighters and police and then taken to a hospital in Brownsville. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department later said in a statement that two people had also been bitten and two others had “encountered” the shark but were not seriously injured. “Shark encounters of this nature are not common in Texas,” the department said. “When shark bites occur, it is usually a case of misidentification by sharks looking for food.”
About 1,348 miles (2,170 kilometers) away on Florida’s New Smyrna Beach, another man was bitten by a shark Thursday afternoon. The victim, a 21-year-old from Ohio, was attacked while playing soccer in knee-deep water, local authorities said. The bite occurred about 4 p.m. local time. The man, visiting Florida for the holiday weekend, was taken to a nearby medical center with injuries that are not expected to be life-threatening.
So far this year, there have been 28 shark attacks recorded worldwide, according to data from Tracking SharksNearly half of them have occurred in the United States, with Florida being the state with the most incidents (five). In fact, historically, shark attacks are more frequent in Florida than in any other state. Since 1837, there have been 928 incidents in the Sunshine State, 57% of all recorded attacks in the country. according to data The Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File is the second largest shark attack in the world. Hawaii is next with 195; California with 138; the Carolinas with a combined total of 198; and Texas with just 45. On Padre Island in Texas, where Thursday’s bites were reported, the last attack occurred five years ago, according to the AP.
Are shark attacks becoming more frequent?
In 2023, there were 69 shark attacks worldwide, 36 of which were in the United States. That total marked an increase in the number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide and an increase in fatalities compared to the previous year, according to the Florida Museum. Despite the increase, however, the number of bites and deaths that occurred last year “is within the average of the past decade,” the institution notes. in a report published last February. “There are consistently fewer than 100 unprovoked bites each year, so it is more likely that someone will win the lottery than be attacked by a shark,” they say. Furthermore, the report indicates that if the number of recorded incidents is increasing, it is usually because more people are spending time in the sea, not because sharks have become more dangerous. In reality, the chances of being attacked by a shark are one in 11.5 millionsays the Florida Museum.
One of the worst incidents in recent weeks occurred in Hawaii on June 23, when professional surfer, instructor and coast guard Tamayo Perry —a supporting actor in Pirates of the Caribbean and in the series Hawaii: 5.0— was attacked by a shark off the coast of Oahu, specifically at Malaekahana Beach, on the northern tip of the island, and died from the bites. Perry was 49 years old.
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