Statistics of Shark Attacks on Divers

Displayed above are the distributions of the numbers of passes sharks make when they encounter divers. The distribution of the number of close passes a shark will make on a diver before he is attacked is relatively even between no passes andone pass, and slightly higher for more than one pass. Attacking behavior of a shark can vary depending on the species and situation. (Updated February 1, 2008)





As the above data indicate, the majority of attacking sharks will strike a diver only once. A shark may only have one chance to bite the diver. Once a diver realizes he is bitten, he will do anything possible to escape from the shark, and fortunately, the majority of divers do escape from the shark. This is because an attack is classified as a shark aggressing towards a diver, not necessarily wounding the diver. (Updated February 1, 2008)





The above data indicate the behavior of the shark during the initial attack on the diver. A large percentage of the attacks were by sharks that attacked suddenly and violently. This is the most efficient strategy a shark uses when hunting prey. Shark attacks usually occur because a shark has mistaken a human for prey. The sharks that attacked more passively might have been "testing" the human to see whether or not the human is prey. (Updated February 1, 2008)





The above data indicate the direction from which the shark initially attacked. A shark will come at a diver from pretty much any direction, but it is very rare that a shark will attack from above. Its physiology does not allow it to bend in such ways that make an above attack effective. Attacking from above would also subject a vulnerable part of its body, its belly, to counterattack. (Updated February 1, 2008)





The greatest majority of sharks that strike again, make deliberate repeated strikes. The low sample number of available data indicates that not many sharks will in fact make a second, third, or fourth subsequent attack. If the shark is striking again, it has most likely decided that the diver is good enough to prey on and will do what it can to kill the diver before it eats him. This strategy is also seen when sharks attack other prey. (Updated February 1, 2008)





As the data above indicate, after a shark attacks, most of the time it will leave the scene of the attack, or is not seen again, which suggests that it has left the scene of the attack. This prevents a counterattack and keeps the shark safe from counterattack. (Updated February 1, 2008)





The above data indicate the behavior of the shark prior to an attack. An overwhelming majority of the divers did not see the attacking shark. When diving, be careful not to assume that there are no sharks in the area just because you can not see any swimming around. (Updated February 1, 2008)

© International Shark Attack File Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida