More people, more money leads to more shark attacks, JU’s Dr. Quinton White tells WJXT TV-4

Shark attacks are up in the U.S., and Dr. Quinton White, executive director of JU’s Marine Science Research Institute, offered reasons for the uptick on WJXT TV-4 recently.

A record 80 people around the world last year were bit by sharks in verified unprovoked attacks, with 53 of those in the U.S., according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. Florida had more bites than any other state.

White told WJXT’s Scott Johnson that there’s more going on in the water than some folks might want to believe.

“We do some flights where we’re looking for things down the beach, and it’s remarkable how many times between the surfer and/or the swimmer there’s a shark swimming in the surf, and people don’t even realize it,” White told Johnson.

He said the reason for the high numbers worldwide comes down to population.

“As the world’s population goes up and, quite frankly, as the world’s income goes up, and they have more time to spend with leisurely activities like swimming in the water, then the higher probability you’re going to have shark attacks occur. The sharks are out there all the time anyway,” White said.

Click here to watch the entire report.