Scientists explain mystery of why America is becoming 'shark attack capital of the world'

The US has become the shark attack capital of the world amid a spate of gruesome bites in Florida, Texas, New York and California.

Despite Australia's reputation for being a hotspot, more than half of the 69 worldwide confirmed shark bites last year occurred in the US.

These figures, as well as heightened media attention around the attacks in America, have led many to wonder if the sharks around our coastlines are becoming more aggressive in some way.

Former President Donald Trump has floated the idea that the increase in battery-powered boats are causing cause humans to be attacked by sharks. Other experts have theorized global warming and rising sea levels could be changing the predators' behavior.

But experts told DailyMail.com they believe it to be a mixture of a surplus of fish migrating to the coasts and environmental conditions while other experts have said it's caused by America's efforts to clean up the ocean.

The number of shark attacks has driven the US to become the shark capital of the world, impacting states including Florida, New York and California

There were 69 worldwide confirmed shark bites last year in far-reaching areas like Australia, Brazil and South Africa, with 36 of these occurring in the US, the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File reported

Over the Fourth of July weekend, a 14-year-old was attacked while lifeguard training in Florida. When Dempsey Manhart dove into the water, he landed on top of a shark which bit his leg before swimming away.

The teenager was rushed to the hospital where he needed 17 stitches to seal the wound. 

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Many experts theorize that US conservation efforts to decrease pollution in the oceans has changed sharks' hunting behaviors, bringing them closer to water near land that was once unviable because it was so polluted. 

In some states, like New York, conservation efforts to clean up rivers that flow into the ocean have reduced the amount of polluted and dirty water that reaches the sea, driving a rebound in marine life.

'Seeing sharks in our local ecosystem is extremely important, and it's a sign that the environment around us is healthy,' Chris Paparo, a shark expert at Stony Brook University in Long Island said in a series of Twitter videos.

But professors Oliver Shipley and Michael Frisk at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook told DailyMail.com that can't conclusively say there is one specific reason why the sharks are swimming so close to shore.

'This is not a cut-and-dry cause-and-effect scenario,' Shipley said.

'This is something that's extremely complex and we have to be really careful about attributing single things, like pollution, to why we may see more of certain animals in certain areas than we did before.'

Shipley said: 'I don't think that the number of incidents are higher in the US because it's anything to do with sharks being more aggressive here relative to other places, I think there are other demographic factors that might play into it.'

The number of shark attacks in the US decreased last year, dropping from 41  recorded incidents in 2022, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File report, which contradicts the idea bites are becoming more common.

In 2019, a 19-year-old was vacationing on the Texas coast when she was attacked by a shark and fought off the predator by punching it on the nose

A shark attacked 14-year-old Dempsey Manhart while he was lifeguard training in Florida

A man received stitches in his leg after a shark attack in Ferndale, California in 2022.

Shipley and Frisk are not ruling out the theory, but said there isn't conclusive evidence that pollution has contributed to sharks' proximity to shore.

Fisheries adopted regulations to safeguard the declining shark population over a decade ago.

The Shark Conservation Act of 2010 banned shark finning - a trade in which sharks are captured and their fins removed before tossing them back into the ocean.

'Are there more sharks now than there were five or 10 years ago? Absolutely,' Tobey Curtis, a fishery management specialist at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told Vox. 'We've been managing and conserving shark populations since 1993.'

Despite this report, Frisk and Shipley said the shark population hasn't drastically increased in the last 30 to 50 years and shark attacks more likely occur where schools of fish congregate.

Sharks have relatively good eyesight underwater, but they can have trouble distinguishing between a seal and a person on a surfboard and murky water can also play a part as well, making it hard to differentiate between a human and prey

Some of the sharks that have bitten humans are pretty docile, like sand tiger sharks, but can bump into each other there would be a chance you could get bitten

In 2019, a 19-year-old was vacationing on the Texas coast when she was attacked by a shark and fought off the predator by punching it on the nose and in a separate incident, a man received stitches in his leg after a shark attack in California in 2022.

Some of the sharks that have seemingly attacked humans are pretty docile, like sand tiger sharks, but if a person and the shark bumped into each other there would be a chance the swimmer could get bitten.

'All in all, it could just be you came into contact accidentally and they think that you are part of their feeding system,' Frisk said.

Florida and California see the most attacks in the US each year, and this is likely caused by more people swimming in the water in those regions and the length of time people swim in the ocean during the year.

The International Shark Attack File revealed that great whites, tiger and bull sharks killed the majority of people in 2023, but the increased deaths are due to more people being in the ocean each year and a stronger emphasis placed on reporting bites and fatalities. 

These reports are in direct contrast to former President Donald Trump's false claims that boat batteries cause humans to be attacked by sharks.

The 2024 presidential hopeful brought up shark attacks at a campaign event in Nevada last month after he expressed concern that an electric boat's weight could make them sink and electrocute the people on board.

'What would happen if the boat sank from its weight and you're in the boat and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery is now underwater, and there's a shark that's approximately 10 yards over there?' Trump said.

'Do I get electrocuted or do I jump over by the shark? By the way, lot of shark attacks lately. Did you notice that?'

However, contrary to Trump's claims, Arc Boat Company explained that the batteries are in water-tight containers and have leak detection sensors, 'something you don't typically see in electric cars.'