JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It is a constant concern for those who swim the water off Florida's coastline: Sharks prowling close to shore stalking its next meal.
While shark attacks are very rare, there are more recorded shark attacks on the Florida coast than any other state, according to Shark Attack Data.
The database records 828 recorded unprovoked shark attacks between 1845 to 2016. By comparison, unprovoked California and Hawaii have 187 and 230 recorded attacks respectively, according to the database.
The earliest recorded shark attack in Florida's history is also the state's first recorded deadly attack. A snippet from the Tioga Eagle dated Sep. 10, 1845 noted that a man named Nickerson had been killed by a shark while fishing with nets, citing the Pensacola Gazette. A picture of the snippet from the Tioga Eagle is on the Shark Attack File.
In 1849, the state's first attack on multiple people also happened off the coast of Pensacola.
On Aug. 16, two women, including one only referred to as Mrs. Cracton, were bathing in the ocean when "the former was seized by the shark and drawn into deep water," according to the Public Ledger out of Philadelphia, as seen on the Shark Attack File. A man, named Mr. Mansfield, saved the woman not named in the article from the water and went back in to rescue Mrs. Cracton but died in the attempt.
The article says the woman's body was horribly mutilated when it later drifted ashore. The man's body was never found, but "portions of his clothing, however, had drifted on the beach, leaving but little doubt that he was devoured by sharks."
It would be another 80 years before multiple people attacked in the same event.
The first reported attack on the First Coast happened in 1853, though the earliest source for the attack was from an article in 1901 in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. In the article, as seen on Shark Attack File, a captain from Charleston was near Fernandina Bay in Nassau County when he was knocked overboard. A shark, which had been following the ship, disappeared under the water and soon "a stream of blood" surfaced. The captain's last words were, "I hope you are not after me old boy," according to the article.
In all, Shark Attack Data records 13 shark attacks between 1845-1899, all but four of those were fatal attacks. Most of the attacks happened either in Pensacola or between Nassau and Duval counties.
With the dawn of the 20th century, as more people moved into the state, the rate of attacks went up to over 20 between 1901-1930. However, an increase of reports of shark attacks, rather than simply fatal attacks, the rate of deadly shark attacks decreased.
For example, using Shark Attack Data, 69% of the recorded shark attacks between 1845-1899 resulted in the victim's death. However, between 1901 -1930, only 29% of the recorded shark attacks were fatal.
Yet, with more people in the water, more people saw the horrifying images of a shark attack, such as the case of William Sinker. A short snippet by a July 1917 edition of the Washington Post on Shark Attack File, Sinker was "devoured [...] before hundreds of spectators." Sinker, who was diving when he was attacked, is the first recorded victim in Key West.
One of the more remarkable stories in pre-1930 shark attacks came in 1907, when Belton Larkin fell off his boat while fishing for tarpons, according to Shark Attack File. Several newspapers reported that Larkin had been cut "nearly in two." Yet, the story is not remarkable for the gruesome imagery, yet the very natural explanation given for the attack.
As recounted in one of the newspapers at the time:
"It is thought that the shark bit Larkin by mistake in its desperate eagerness mistaking him for the tarpon, for sharks in these waters have never been known to attack a man."
On June 20, 1934, a shark attacked 8-year-old Richard Clark Best Jr. off the coast of Melbourne. Standing in chest-deep water, the boy screamed, according to several newspapers cited by Shark Attack File. He later died of a shark bite to his hips.
Best is one of the youngest recorded victims of a deadly shark attack in Florida history.
In 1959, one of the most mysterious disappearances attributed to sharks happened in Panama City.
James Neal was a 26-year-old lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Fort Rucker, Alabama. He, along with five other divers, was spearfishing just off the coast of Panama City, according to Shark Attack File.
When the divers converged, they realized Neal was missing. Divers in the area began searching for Neal. One of the divers, according to Shark Attack File, saw a blue shark swimming nearby followed by a mako shark. The Associated Press reported at the time both sharks "lunged at him, missing his face by only six inches."
Neal's equipment was found the following day several hundred yards from where he was last seen, but his body was never recovered. The cause of his disappearance remains unknown. Shark Attack File theorized Neal likely could have drowned with his body being scavenged by sharks and other animals.
Beginning in the 1960s, the rate of fatal to non-fatal shark attacks declined rapidly in Florida, according to Shark Attack Data. In fact, there were no deadly shark attacks from 1962 until 1976, despite there being 61 recorded attacks between Oct. 1961 and Sept. 1976.
That streak was finally broken when two brothers from Tennessee, Ricky and Michael Karras, were swimming near the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Club, according to Shark Attack File. Fishermen who used the pier "regularly caught large sharks" during the night hours.
Sometime between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., the boys went swimming and disappeared. They were presumed drowned until Michael's body washed ashore with evidence of shark bites to the shoulder and leg, according to a contemporary report by the Associated Press. Ricky's body was never found.
A researcher with the University of Miami believed Michael's injuries were from a six-foot bull shark or a 13-foot hammerhead shark, according to Shark Attack File.
Five years later, a remarkable shark attack story that ended in tragedy happened off the Ormond Beach coast. Four people, including 19-year-old Christy Wapniarski, were sailing on a catamaran when the vessel began to sink, according to Shark Attack File. They did not have life jackets with them and clung to the sinking vessel overnight.
The next day, the four were estimated to be between six to nine miles offshore, according to Shark Attack File. They decided to swim towards shore. Christy, known to be a weaker swimmer than the others, later began thrashing in the water.
Tami Ennis, one of the other three in the group, later said in an interview the water turned red as she was yelling about a shark. Chrisy's boyfriend Randall said her left leg had been torn off, according to Shark Attack File. He, along with the third member Daniel Perrin, tried to swim Chrisy back to shore but was forced to leave her behind after they realized she had died.
The remaining three made it back to shore after eight hours of swimming. Christy's body was never found.
One of the most widely covered deadly shark attacks in recent history happened in Miramar Beach in 2005.
Jamie Daigle, 14, was swimming with a friend about 200-250 yards offshore when she was attacked by a shark feeding on a school of fish, according to Shark Attack File.
Tim Dicus, a 54-year-old surfer, quickly swam towards a dark spot of red water where Daigle had been swimming, the Shark Attack File recounted. By the time he reached Daigle, she was floating face down. Dicus placed Daigle on his board, despite the shark repeatedly coming back for subsequent attacks, according to the Shark Attack File.
Daigle was later placed in a raft and made it back to shore. Despite the efforts of Dicus and others, Jamie Daigle was pronounced dead at the hospital. An Associated Press photographer captured a bull shark swimming close to shore the day after Daigle was attacked.
The last deadly shark attack in Florida happened in Stuart in 2010. A lifeguard saw a man lying on the sail of a kiteboard about a quarter-mile offshore, according to Shark Attack File. The lifeguard pulled the man back to shore, though several sharks were circling around. The victim, Stephen Schafer, was later pronounced dead from a bite wound that punctured his femoral artery.
While there have been dozens of shark attacks in Florida since Schafer's death, Florida has not seen a deadly shark attack since then.
Still, while deadly shark attacks are among people's greatest fears when venturing into the water, the chances of dying from a shark attack are very low. Of the 828 recorded shark attacks from Shark Attack Data between 1845-2016, only 36 were fatal, about 4%. Also, considering the millions of people who have been in Florida's waters during that time period, the fact that there are only 828 recorded attacks shows just how rare being attacked by a shark is.
In fact, according to the International Shark Attack File, you are more likely to be killed by an alligator, bee, snake or lightning than a shark. As far as being on the beach, you are more likely to be injured by a jellyfish or stingray than you are to be bitten by a shark.
However, if you are still afraid of being attacked, the International Shark Attack File has the following tips:
- Swim with a buddy
- Stay close to shore
- Don’t swim at dawn or dusk
- Don’t swim around schools of fish or where people are fishing
- Avoid wearing jewelry
- Avoid excess splashing