California

Unlike the tiger shark that will just about eat anything, adult great whites are known to have a specific feeding preference for blubber-rich marine mammals (dolphins, seals, sea lions, walruses, whale carcasses, that kind of thing) and Northern California’s cooler temperate waters are known to serve as another rich habitat for them.

Colloquially referred to as California’s ‘Red Triangle’, this danger zone extends from Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco down just south of Monterey Bay and then out beyond the Farrallon islands.

Responsible for 3 of the 4 fatal attacks to occur in California in the last 10 years, the one exception involved a Great White incident in San Diego in 2008, although females are known to breed in warmer waters off the coast of Baja California).

But when it comes down to total numbers of attacks (just 33 over the last 10 years), California pales in comparison to the east coast of America…

East Coast USA

This mostly means Florida (717 attacks since records began), although North (52) and South Carolina (82) are also fairly high risk areas; in fact North Carolina hit the headlines this summer following a spate of 7 attacks within the space of a month — an unusually high number. Two of these attacks occurred on the same day on the same stretch of beach, as two teenagers lost limbs in separate incidents.

Between 2004 and 2014 alone, the state of Florida was the scene of over 200 shark attacks. But while the waters off the coast of Florida are well-known sharky territory, the main reason for such a high incidence of attacks stems from the millions of visitors that visit Florida’s white sand beaches every year. The more people in the water, the greater the chances of an attack.

It’s worth bearing in mind too that most attacks in Florida are minor. The state has only recorded two fatal attacks in the last 10 years and a total of 14 over the last 100 years or so. Juvenile white pointers and other man-eating sharks such as tiger and bull sharks are known to frequent the region, at times circumnavigating Florida’s pan-handle right into the Gulf of Mexico (possibly to give birth), but a higher percentage of attacks prove fatal in North Carolina, where the continental shelf drops off into deep water much faster.

South Africa

South Africa is where the great white was first declared a protected endangered species in 1991. Since then shark cage diving has grown into a thriving tourist industry, and the country’s built up quite the shark rep for itself. Dyer Island located just off Cape Town even earned itself the nickname Shark Alley due to the large variety of species in the area.

The practice of chumming — baiting sharks closer to shore for tourists — most likely hasn’t helped reduce South Africa’s number of shark attacks: it’s the third highest country on the International Shark Attack File, having witnessed 12 fatal attacks in the last 5 years. Following the drama of this year’s J-Bay final, Australian legend and longtime South Africa resident Derek Hynd said he was convinced that shark cage diving was to blame for an increase in attacks.

However, it’s important to remember that different shark species favour different niche habitats. The huge seal colonies that live off of Cape Town are what really lure great whites to the region. Kosi Bay estuary, meanwhile, located at the north-eastern extremity of South Africa, is a well known hot spot for bull sharks, known to the locals as Zambezi. On the east coast around Durban the beaches are netted so there’s not too much to worry about there but up and down the rest of the coastline you’d do well to ask locals for info and take standard precautions such as avoiding known feeding times, surfing alone etc.

Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa’s most famous wave, is not its sharkiest, but sightings there are far from uncommon. In 2003, Taj Burrow left the water during a heat after spotting what he thought was a great white, refusing to get back in when contest organisers told him he was mistaken and that the heat would continue regardless (“I’m from Western Australia, and I know what a great white looks like,” was Taj’s not unreasonably response); then in 2013 an experienced local open water swimmer was killed by a great white towards the bottom of the point. After Mick’s incredibly close encounter with what’s suspected also to have been a great white, at this stage it seems unlikely that tour will return to J-Bay in 2016.

Australia

When it comes to life-threatening animals there’s no place like Australia. From deadly venomous spiders and snakes to saltwater crocs and Box jellyfish, nature doesn’t come much more diverse and hostile than Downunder! And sharks of course make up part of the list.

To date Australia reports the second-highest number of shark attacks after the U.S., although far more fatalities (153 compared to just 35 in the States). In the last few years a great many of these fatal attacks have occurred in Western Australia, and the “culprit” has generally been the great white. Between 2011 and 2012, the state of Western Australia recorded a staggering 5 deaths in just 10 months over a relatively small portion of the coastline (there have been just two fatalities on the state’s coastline since then).

Many consider the bull shark to be the most dangerous shark species to humans as they favour shallow coastal waters, and the murky water conditions in which they like to hunt are often associated with highly populated areas. And yes, they can even swim a long way up rivers.

But the great white? An increase in numbers would seem to be the obvious explanation for this spike in attacks. Following in South Africa’s footsteps, Australia declared the great white a vulnerable species in 1999 due to significant population decline, and many think they’ve made a strong recovery.

Because of the great white’s protected status, Australia’s recent shark culling policy required a special exemption which many animal-rights activists claimed to be unlawful. In fact, in Australia the shark cull was met with such fierce opposition that professional fishermen refused to collaborate with the government. The policy has since been largely abandoned.

Historically, however, most shark attacks have tended to occur on the country’s east — and far more densely populated — coast; indeed the most recent fatal attack took place in northern New South Wales, where there have been numerous attacks already this year.

Recife, Brazil

When examining the various reasons for shark attacks, Brazil might serve as the best case study of how human coastal interaction can lead to a spike in attacks.

A 20-kilometre stretch of coastline encompassing the north-eastern coastal city of Recife is statistically the most dangerous place in the world for swimmers and surfers. Since 1992, there have been a record total of 53 shark attacks, 20 of which have been fatal. Previous to that year, shark attacks were more or less unheard of.

The problem first arose in the 90s following the construction of a huge harbour just 40km south of Recife in Boca del Suape. To facilitate the construction process, two freshwater estuaries were interrupted where a population of bull sharks were known to spawn.

It’s thought north-bound currents and fewer available fish displaced these sharks towards Recife, while a combination of over-fishing, increased maritime traffic and river waste (in particular slaughter houses discharging blood into the Jaboatão River) attracted further shark populations closer to the coast in search of food.

As with another of the shark zones featured herein, Reunion Island, the outbreak led to a ban on surfing, the authorities concerned at the negative knock-on effect attacks were having on local tourism.

In more recent years, authorities have taken to capturing and relocating the bull shark population further afield which is reported to have slowed the number of attacks, but that’s not to say the waters are safe.