(Oh, wait. Maybe this isn't such an honor after all?! YIKES!)

quote:

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Sharks find Americans most appetizing people in the world
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The United States has more shark attacks than any other place in the world, and new encounters are sure to occur as millions of Americans return to the shores beginning this weekend.

Sharks burst onto the front pages last summer when 9-year-old Jesse Arbogast of Ocean Springs, Miss., had an arm bitten off; his uncle grabbed the attacking shark and wrestled it to shore.

Shark attacks have been increasing in recent years as more vacationers take to the ocean, a panel of experts said Tuesday.

Of 2,110 unprovoked shark attacks reported worldwide over the years, 854 have taken place in the United States, according to the International Shark Attack File maintained by George H. Burgess of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.

Americans have more leisure time and money to take vacations to the beach and thus are more exposed to the possibility of attack, Burgess said at a news conference.

Australia has had 323 shark attacks; Africa has had 293.

Despite all the headlines in 2001, shark attacks were actually down from the previous year. There were 76 unprovoked attacks around the world, compared with 85 in 2000.

Shark attacks off the United States increased by one to 55. Florida, which leads the nation, had 37, one fewer than in 2000.

In general, sharks prefer to feed on smaller fish and sea creatures and avoid people, the researchers said.

Indeed, fishing has reduced the stock of sharks in recent years, resulting in a need for conservation, said Rebecca Lent of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries service.

Burgess added, "Every time we enter the sea we have to understand it is a wilderness experience," entering the territory of the shark.

Florida has recorded more than half of the shark attacks in this country, 474 out of 854, Burgess said. California is second with 111, followed by Hawaii with 100.

Other states where shark attacks have been recorded include South Carolina, 42; Texas, 28; North Carolina, 20; New Jersey and Oregon, 16 each; Georgia and Delaware, 8 each; Virginia, 6; New York and Massachusetts, 5 each; Alabama, 4; Louisiana, 3; and Washington, Connecticut, Mississippi and Rhode Island, 1 each. There have been four bites where the state was not recorded.

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And the moral of this story is "Stay out of the water!"
The Travel Channel occasionally gives aerial glimpses of hotels and private homes near the oceans; there seems to be a predominance of swimming pools right next to the open ocean.
This tells me that there are still dangerous critters roaming the depths (from sharks to stinging jellyfish). Regardless of how benign and welcoming the oceans seem, human swimmers are out of their element when entering salt water.
Linda1, I don't know what an "unprovoked" shark attack is -- they are hungry, we are bait.

Wot!! No way Australia is home of the shark attack. Given the population of a mere 20 million.
I would have thought though that Africa would have quite a few attacks that would never be reported.

Oh how funny! I came into this thread ready to read some amazing first or something and am confronted, in fact, with a competition to provide water creatures with their supper...

And just in case it is helpful, the key appears to be in the original report ( ):

quote:

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In general, sharks prefer to feed on smaller fish and sea creatures and avoid people, the researchers said.

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So the answer appears just to stay very very tiny and you will never be eaten.... a doddle.... in fact I will write a memo to my cichlids in the tank (sited in the room next door) just in case the info is useful to them and so they will be fully informed...

Incidently this reminds me of a story told to me by a workmate.
He migrated from England in the early 60s by boat and on the voyage stopped at a west african port, cant remember which. During the break the crew members delighted in throwing coins off the ship into the water so the local children would go in after them. The catch was that a collection of sharks lurked in the deeper water and the coins gradually were thrown further and further out. The practice was stopped when one of the passengers suggested he would start throwing in crew members instead of coins.