Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…
Via The Daily Mail:
As the summer beach season opens across the United States, experts are warning beach goers to take extra precautions as they predict a record number of shark attacks this year.
George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida, warned that the United States could expect more than 100 attacks this year – thanks, in part, to global warming.
‘We should have more bites this year than last,’ Burgess, said in an interview shortly before the Memorial Day holiday weekend that signals the unofficial start of America’s summer vacation – and beach – season.
In 2015, there were 98 shark attacks, including six fatalities, according to Burgess.
But this year could surpass the number as shark populations recover from historic lows in the 1990s, while the world’s human population has grown and rising temperatures are leading more people to go swimming, Burgess said.
Still, the university notes that fatal shark attacks, while undeniably graphic, are so infrequent that beachgoers face a higher risk of being killed by sand collapsing as the result of over achieving sand castle builders.