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Michael Fernandez / AP
This July 11, 2011 photo shows a shark warning sign along the Surf Beach near Lompoc, Calif. in Santa Barbara County. A shark attack at the Vandenberg Air Force base beach has claimed the life of an experienced 39-year-old surfer, following months of frequent shark sightings along the central California coast.
Shark attacks on humans in the United States have reached their highest levels in more than a decade — and an improving economy may be the reason why, experts say.
There were 53 shark attacks in the United States in 2012, matching the previous high set in 2000, according to the International Shark Attack File, an annual report released Monday by researchers at the University of Florida.
"I think the economy has played a major role in the sense with the downturn in the economy, fewer people had the ability to take holidays and visit the beach,” George Burgess, who heads the effort to compile shark attack data, told Reuters.
A rebounding economy meant more people went to the beach, which created more opportunities for sharks to attack.
“The numerical growth in shark interactions does not necessarily mean that there is an increase in the rate of shark attacks; rather, it most likely reflects the ever-increasing amount of time spent in the sea by humans, which increases the opportunities for interaction between the two affected parties,” the report reads.
The number of shark attacks has steadily grown each decade since 1900, which the study attributes to a constantly increasing amount of time people spend in water.
The United States typically leads the world in shark attacks. Last year, Florida was the state with the highest number of attacks with 26.
Surfers and those participating in board sports were most often involved in incidents, making up 60 percent of the attacks, the report said.
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This is the stupidest article I have ever read !
This economy is still in the toilet and sharks are just hungry !
One of the most overused words in reporting---expert.
What a completely asinine deduction to make. Using the same method; if the economy keeps improving there should be 700 homicides in Chicago in 2013.
In a related story, scientists have noted that ice cream consumption and deaths by drowning both increase during summer months. They have concluded that people who eat ice cream are more likely to drown.
Oh! NOW, I get it! Cheney and Bush were just saving the world from sharks when they torched every institution of a functioning economy by rewarding their cronies with our national treasure. Thanks, guys. Your motives were actually good! Who knew?
Oh, I thought they were talking about the CEO's of all the big oil companies. Perhaps I should read that again.
Lets see, just as the gas prices were starting to go down at the gas station, it created more opportunities for further greed by shafting the public with higher gas prices from big oil.
Nope, I guess I got it right the first time, after all!
The sharks are here because the seals are here. The seals are here because of the marine mammal protection act. (Another government screw up. ) They are so over populated they are starving. Sea World continues to save the starving ones on our dollar and put them back in the ocean so they can starve again.
wonderful..
The election is over, the truth can be told - OUR ECONOMY IS WORSE THAN 5 YEARS AGO FOLKS. How bout going to the pity potty article written today about how college grads can't find a job. How bout TRIPLE the food stamp distribution. How bout triple the National Debt. Bankrupt American business reported almost weekly. Unemployment hovering over 8%. WT!!???
Oy, the stock market just makes the 'fat cats' better off, not the average Joe.
The only people getting a better economy are the leeches counting on their next entitlement.
What improved economy? More like the sharks are getting hungrier just like the average citizen.
The article failed to mention that there were millions of people attacks on sharks during the same time period.
They will be a threat to us as soon as they learn how to go on land in a giant floating fish tank, dangle twinkies in the air, and then cut the arms off any humans that take the bait. Oh wait, that's what we do to them....
From reading the headline I was certain the article would be about bankers.
Well that makes for a bummer of an economic indicator. :/
Someone sat around and actually came up with this as a "theory"?
LOL - somebody gets paid for ths stuff.
Malarkey
Shark attacks are good for the economy! We should encourage the sharks to attack more people to bolster the economy further!
So all of a sudden the economy is rebounding just for this writer's purpose?
Shark attacks are increasing because the oceans are being fished and trawled bare.
I thought they were referring to that POS obama...
Well thank goodness for the world's first ever & only non-electronic shark repellent wetsuit
Al-quaeda has mastered a means of training sharks to attack surfers and beachgoers. An Iranian marine biologist isolated a gene that makes sharks crave human meat. This was published in the Saudi Journal of Marine Biology.
Given the headline, I was sure that sequestration was to blame. A 2.6% cut in the expected increase of shark food was driving them to eat humans.
Rise of the economy???? ha ha ha ha What are these people smoking? Oh Yeah, It is California!!!