After a down year in 2024, shark bites were up worldwide with fatalities nearly jumping twofold in 2025.
The Guardian reported on research from The International Shark Attack File, which is part of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida.
The article documented 65 unprovoked attacks in 2025, which was up from 47 in 2024 and higher than the five-year average of 61. Twelve of the attacks were fatal, which was a major increase from 2024's seven and the long-term average of six.
The ISAF speculated that the rise in fatalities was due to great white sharks congregating in popular surfing areas in Australia.
"Shark bites are the consequence of the biology of the animals, the climatic conditions, and the number of people in the water at the time of the incident," explained Gavin Naylor, the organization's program director.
The report noted that the death toll of five in Australia could have been way worse had it not taken place elsewhere.
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"Their beach safety is second to none," Naylor said. "Within minutes of a bite, they've got helicopters airborne, ready to respond."
In the U.S., Florida led with 11 unprovoked bites, which was more than double that of any other state. Florida's Volusia County on the Atlantic coast accounted for six incidents, while the entire states of California and Hawaiʻi each had four. Canada recorded its first unprovoked incident since 2021.
The majority of the world's unprovoked shark attacks last year involved white sharks, tiger sharks, and bull sharks.
2025 had the first recorded unprovoked death by a dusky shark, which cost the life of a South African fisherman. A similar situation played out in Israel, but the dusky shark's attack was deemed to be provoked and thus excluded from the report.
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Despite dramatic portrayals in the media, these interactions remain extremely rare when you compare their numbers to drowning fatalities or lightning strike deaths.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that around 4,000 deaths in the U.S. occur from drowning, while around 24,000 people globally are killed each year by lightning strikes.
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