ceramictec
02-19-2009, 06:20 PM
Economic Recession Means Fewer Shark Attacks
Shark attacks are on the decline due to the current economic downturn, a biologist speculated today.
In 2008, attacks worldwide dipped to their lowest level in five years, a sign that Americans may be forgoing vacation trips to the beach, said ichthyologist George Burgess of the University of Florida.
Burgess is the director of the International Shark Attack File, a compilation of all known shark attacks that is administered by the American Elasmobranch Society and the Florida Museum of Natural History, on the UF campus.
The total number of shark attacks declined from 71 in 2007 to 59 in 2008, the fewest since 2003, when there were 57, said Burgess, who works at the museum.
"I can't help but think that contributing to that reduction may have been the reticence of some people to take holidays and go to the beach for economic reasons," Burgess said. "We noticed similar declines during the recession that followed the events of 2001, despite the fact that human populations continued to rise."
Shark attacks basically correlate with the number of people in the water. The more people go to the beach, the more they are in the shark's home, the offshore waters, and the more attacks on humans.
The number of shark attacks in the United States, which typically makes up about two-thirds of the total worldwide, dropped from 50 in 2007 to 41 in 2008, Burgess said. Thirty-two of those attacks were in Florida - the same number as the previous year - followed by North Carolina and South Carolina, with three each; Hawaii had two; and California, one.
Florida, with its warm waters, has more sharks, including black tip sharks and spinner sharks, species not found in lower temperatures, Burgess said.
:D
Shark attacks are on the decline due to the current economic downturn, a biologist speculated today.
In 2008, attacks worldwide dipped to their lowest level in five years, a sign that Americans may be forgoing vacation trips to the beach, said ichthyologist George Burgess of the University of Florida.
Burgess is the director of the International Shark Attack File, a compilation of all known shark attacks that is administered by the American Elasmobranch Society and the Florida Museum of Natural History, on the UF campus.
The total number of shark attacks declined from 71 in 2007 to 59 in 2008, the fewest since 2003, when there were 57, said Burgess, who works at the museum.
"I can't help but think that contributing to that reduction may have been the reticence of some people to take holidays and go to the beach for economic reasons," Burgess said. "We noticed similar declines during the recession that followed the events of 2001, despite the fact that human populations continued to rise."
Shark attacks basically correlate with the number of people in the water. The more people go to the beach, the more they are in the shark's home, the offshore waters, and the more attacks on humans.
The number of shark attacks in the United States, which typically makes up about two-thirds of the total worldwide, dropped from 50 in 2007 to 41 in 2008, Burgess said. Thirty-two of those attacks were in Florida - the same number as the previous year - followed by North Carolina and South Carolina, with three each; Hawaii had two; and California, one.
Florida, with its warm waters, has more sharks, including black tip sharks and spinner sharks, species not found in lower temperatures, Burgess said.
:D