10 people killed in unprovoked shark attacks last year, report finds

Ten people died from unprovoked shark attacks globally in 2023, a slight uptick over the five-year average, according to a Florida-based database.

Ten people died from unprovoked shark attacks globally in 2023, a slight uptick over the five-year average, according to a Florida-based database that tracks the rare events.

After investigating 121 alleged shark-human interactions worldwide last year, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File determined there were 69 unprovoked shark bites, most of which occurred in the United States and Australia, according to a new report released on Monday. That number is in line with the five-year average of 63 incidents annually from 2018 to 2022, the report said.

Twenty-two shark attacks last year were determined to be intentionally or unintentionally provoked, the report said. Among those, there were four fatalities, it said.

Provoked bites occur when a human "initiates interaction" with a shark, such as through spearfishing or attempting to feed it, the report said. Unprovoked bites are defined as those occurring on live humans in the shark's natural habitat with no human provocation.

"We're biologists and so we want to know what the natural behavior of these animals is," Gavin Naylor, director of the International Shark Attack File, told ABC News. "When they come closer to shore, is it associated with a full moon? Is it associated with fish spawning?"