Shark Attacks Decline For 3rd Year

The number of shark attacks worldwide has dropped 30 percent over the past three years, good news for surfers but apparently bad news for sharks.

The decline is caused by a worldwide decline in shark populations, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

"It's beginning to signal to us a little bit that maybe there is something happening here," Burgess said.

Along the East Coast of the United States, some shark species have declined 40 percent to 50 percent in the past 15 years, Burgess said, and a few have declined as much as 70 percent.

There were 55 reported attacks in 2003, compared to 79 in 2000, 68 in 2001 and 63 in 2002. Four people were killed by sharks in 2003, compared with three in 2002 and four in 2001 — all far less than the 11 people killed in 2000.

Burgess attributes part of the decline in shark populations to an increase in fishing, and said another factor in the decline in attacks may be the economic downturn that meant fewer people were able to afford beach vacations.

In addition, people seem to be realizing that they have to coexist with sharks by avoiding areas where sharks have been spotted.

"It's not like jumping into the YMCA pool. You're jumping into a foreign environment," Burgess said. "You wouldn't think about going to Africa and not worrying about the lions and leopards and water buffalo."