Source International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum Natural HistoryĪpproximately forty species of sharks occur in Hawaiian waters, ranging in size from the deep-water pygmy shark (about 8 inches) to the whale shark (up to 60 feet). Ranking of Unprovoked Shark Attacks by County (1995- 2020) HawaiiĬonfirmed Shark Attacks Hawaii 1858- Present. Hawaii follows Florida, and exceeds California in Shark Attacks. On average, 60 people die each year by drowning in Hawaii, according to the State of Hawaii Department of Health Injury Prevention and Control Program. The Hawaii Department of Land and National Resources Aquatic Resources Division (DAR) records indicate that there are usually 2 to 3 attacks around Hawaii per year, and almost all are non-fatal. This is likely a convergence of factors: population size and number of ocean hours spent, visitor load and migratory behavior. Although Hawaii ranks high in bites, the central Hawaiian islands far exceed the number of incidents among the islands including the Northwest Hawaiian islands. Maui is the hot spot for human shark encounters followed by Oahu. Since the time that shark attacks have been recorded by DLNR, officially there have been 6 deadly shark attacks in Hawaii, and all of those have taken place on Maui. Fatal shark bites are extremely rare, especially considering the number of people in Hawaii’s waters. Source: Florida Museum International Shark Attack FileĮncounters between sharks and people are infrequent, and most inshore species are harmless and pose little threat to humans.
Ranking of Unprovoked Shark Attacks by State 2020. Florida ranked number 1 in the USA in 2020 with 16 bites, followed by Hawaii with 5, and California with 4. This is a decrease from 2019 when 64% of the worldwide unprovoked bites occurred in the U.S. The 33 cases represent 58% of the worldwide total in 2020. This is 19.5% lower than the 41 incidents that occurred in the U.S. Consistent with long-term trends, in 2020 the United States experienced the most unprovoked shark bites in the world, with 33 confirmed cases according to the international Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
This is yet the 8th confirmed incident of an unprovoked* shark bite on a human in 2021, and once documented, makes the 145 th record maintained by the Hawaii Dept of Land and Resources since 1995. Screenshot from Surfline Camera of Incident- shark and surfer right Willeford was able to swim ashore and be treated by emergency responders for lacerations to his arm, before being transported to hospital. Once released he was able to swim to the adjacent surfer who applied a tourniquet with her leash. The incident was captured on a Surfline-surf camera (frame grab below). He reported the shark bit him then spun and hit him in the face with its tail. Veteran surfer Jared “Jahred” Willieford was waiting for a wave with a nearby surfer when the shark slammed into him and grasped his arm, pulling him off the board and submerging him before releasing. So he was trying to push her away, because he didn't want her to get hurt.On Decema 38 year old man was bit by a shark while surfing at the popular break Banyans in Kailua- Kona between the hours of 5:55 and 6 PM during a period of light rain. It was really close to the cage, and they have pointy ends. "It has a big laceration on the right side. "The dive master was pushing the shark away," he told LiveScience. In one, the diver appears to give the shark a high five-however, Padilla later said he was just trying to push her away from the cage. The original films of Deep Blue captured by Padilla shows the enormous shark swimming past a cage of divers. This means that, as long as she survives, Deep Blue will continue to grow.Īccording to the Smithsonian's Ocean Portal, the average female great white shark grows to around 15 to 16 feet in length, while males are smaller, measuring 11 to 13 feet, on average. Sharks continue to grow throughout their lives, and the average lifespan of a great white is thought to be around 70 years.
This could be the result of her being pregnant-or just that she has eaten a lot of sperm whale.ĭeep Blue is estimated to be about 50 years old and weighs 2.5 tons. In the film, they also point out that Deep Blue has a sizeable girth. The team at National Geographic say this will help them get a better understanding of the migration patterns of female great whites. A post shared by National Geographic last time Deep Blue was caught on camera, she was off the coast of Baja California, in Mexico, around 2,400 miles from Hawaii.