The woman – who has not been identified – was in Penzance, Cornwall with Blue Shark Snorkel Trips when the accident happened last Tuesday. While unprovoked shark attacks are extremely rare in the seas around the UK, they are much more common in other parts of the world. The Florida Museum has created a handy interactive map that lets you explore the number of unprovoked shark attacks around the world. It reveals that the US is the hotspot for shark attacks in the world, with 1,563 unprovoked attacks since 1580, followed by Australia (682 attacks), the Republic of South Africa (258 attacks) and Brazil (110 attacks). The Florida Museum has created a handy interactive map based on data from the International Shark Attack Archive (ISAF) that lets you explore the number of unprovoked shark attacks around the world since 1900 While unprovoked shark attacks are extremely rare in British waters, they are far more common in other parts of the world. Pictured: a great white shark

Countries with the most unprovoked shark attacks since 1580

The interactive map is based on data from The International Shark Attack File (ISAF). “(ISAF) is the world’s only scientifically documented, comprehensive database of all known shark attacks,” the Florida Museum explains on its website. “Started in 1958, there are now more than 6,800 individual surveys covering the period from the early 1500s to the present day.” A slider at the bottom of the map lets you change the date range from 1900 to 2021, and you can also use toggles to select certain shark species and whether or not the attacks were fatal.
You can then explore the number of unprovoked shark attacks around the world by drawing a box around the data points of interest. In 2021, there were 137 alleged shark-human interactions worldwide, according to ISAF. This included 73 unprovoked bites – those in which a live human was bitten in the shark’s natural environment – and 39 provoked bites. “Of the remaining 25 cases, four involved bites on motorized or non-marine vessels (“boat bites”) and one involved postmortem shark bites (“scratches”), the Florida Museum explains. “Five cases were considered ‘doubtful’ or incidents that probably did not involve a shark. “These included one case attributed to barbel, three to bony fish and one to injury associated with rock scraping.” The map reveals that the US is the world’s shark attack hotspot, with 1,563 unprovoked attacks since 1580, followed by Australia (682 attacks), South Africa (258 attacks) and Brazil (110 attacks). In Europe, Greece is the region with the most shark attacks since 1847 (15), followed by Italy (13) and Spain (6). However, only three attacks in British waters have been recorded

Sharks found in British waters

Smooth hammerhead shark – North Atlantic off the west tip of Cornwall Blue Shark – 10 miles off the south coast of Cornwall Thresher Shark – Channel off the coast of Devon Mako shark fin – Bristol Channel and off the coast of Wales Porbeagle shark – The most common on the south coast Basking Shark – Sea of ​​the Hebrides Of the 73 unprovoked shark bites recorded last year, the vast majority (47) were recorded in the US, with one fatality. Twelve of the attacks took place in Australia, where three proved fatal. Meanwhile, Brazil, New Zealand and South Africa each had three bites and one death in 2021, while New Caledonia reported two incidents, both fatal. Most of the bites were found to be related to surfing and board sports. “Following recent trends, surfers and those participating in board sports accounted for the most cases (51 percent of total cases),” the Florida Museum said. “This group spends a lot of time in the surf zone, an area frequented by sharks, and can inadvertently attract sharks by splashing, paddling and ‘sweeping’. “Swimmers and swimmers accounted for 39 percent of incidents, with the remaining incidents split between swimmers/freedivers (four percent) and athlete surfers (six percent).” While these statistics may sound alarming, the Florida Museum assures that the risk of being bitten by a shark remains extremely low. “While the frequency of fatal bites in 2021 was higher than typical, we do not consider this a cause for alarm,” he added. “At present, there is no evidence that the recent increase in deaths is linked to any natural phenomenon. “It is rather the consequence of chance, a conclusion underscored by the fact that the number of unprovoked bites is in line with recent five-year trends.” Last week, a snorkeler was left “screaming for help” after being bitten by a shark off Cornwall in the first such attack in 175 years – in what the victim described as a “very scary incident” at sea. Pictured: a blue shark Last week, a snorkeler was left “screaming for help” after being bitten by a shark off Cornwall in the first such attack in 175 years – in what the victim described as a “very scary incident” at sea. The woman – who has not been identified – was in Penzance, Cornwall, with Blue Shark Snorkel Trips when the accident happened last Thursday. The hapless adventurer had swum about 15 miles out to sea during the £180 per person excursion when the shark, unprovoked, suddenly bit her leg. The swimmer was rushed to the charter boat where she was given first aid and taken to land for further treatment. It is the first shark attack of its kind on a person in British waters since 1847. Several fishermen have been bitten in recent years, but only after bringing the sea creatures into their boats.