Sharks attack some 50-75 people each year worldwide, with perhaps 8-12 fatalities, according to data compiled in the International Shark Attack File (ISAF). Although shark attacks get a lot of attention, this is far less than the number of people killed each year by elephants, bees, crocodiles, lightning or many other natural dangers. On the other side of the ledger, we kill somewhere between 20 and 100 million sharks every year through fishing activities.

Of the 350 or so shark species, about 80% grow to less than 5 feet (1.6 meters) and are unable to hurt people or rarely encounter people. Only 32 species have been documented in attacks on humans, and an additional 36 species are considered potentially dangerous.

Almost any shark six feet or longer is a potential danger, but three species have been identified repeatedly in attacks: the great white, tiger, and bull sharks. All three are found worldwide, reach large sizes and eat large prey such as marine mammals or sea turtles. More attacks on swimmers, free divers, scuba divers, surfers and boats have been reported for the great white shark than for any other species. However, some 80% of all shark attacks probably occur in the tropics and subtropics, where other shark species dominate and white sharks are relatively rare.

Identifying the species of shark responsible for an attack is often difficult. As a case in point, most attacks in Australia prior to the 1970's were attributed to the sand tiger shark, Odontaspis taurus, called the grey nurse shark by the Australians. Since the shark seen in an attack often was described as grey in color, the name association implicated this species. The resulting bias towards these sharks led to the extermination of this species from the populated areas of southeast Australia. The fact is that the grey nurse is not among the more dangerous shark species, and it is now protected in these same Australian waters.

WHY ATTACK
Many shark attacks occur in nearshore waters, typically inshore of a sandbar where sharks may be confined at low tide. Sharks may also congregate along steep drop-offs.

More Info: http://www.mote.org/~rhueter/sharks/shark.phtml

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