Review of Shark Attacks Off Florida’s Coast, 1960 – 2016

A Biting Review of Shark Attacks Off Florida’s Coast, 1960 – 2016

Chris J. Thompson, Kenneth J. Dieker, Isabel D. Chandler, Jason F. Berger, Paul Martin Sommers

ABSTRACT:

The authors examine the monthly total and average number of unprovoked shark attacks off Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts between 1960 and 2016, with special emphasis on the last twenty-seven years, divided into three nine-year intervals.  Two-way connected-line plots, bar graphs and a series of two-sample t-tests reveal that monthly averages were highest in April (1999 – 2007) and September (1999 – 2007 and 2008 – 2016).  Topographic maps created for each nine-year period show the lowest densities (shark attacks per square mile) from 1990 to 1998 and the highest densities from 1999 to 2007, off the shore of the east-central part of the state, northeast of Orlando in Volusia County, home to Daytona Beach.

Journal of Student Research, 9(2). DOI: 10.47611/jsr.v9i2.1083

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