More Occurences of Shark Sightings on East Coast or Gulf...

(Ok. Slightly neurotic I know. But I came of age during the first showings of the movie JAWS.) Are there more occurences of sharks coming nearer to shore on the East Coast or Gulf Coast beaches? Though there is probably little likelihood of great whites around Florida, I undersatnd that those bull sharks and tiger sharks can be a bit nasty.

More Occurences of Shark Sightings on East Coast or Gulf...

Shark attacks have happened all around the state. The sharks migrate, following the schools of feeding fish, which are typically searching for warmer water. So you might see the sharks start out around south Florida, and as the summer goes on, they will move north. Most of the attacks have happened in waist deep water, where you can%26#39;t see what%26#39;s below the surface, and it%26#39;s deep enough for them to swim undetected. One thing I have noticed is that there are more dolphins on the Gulf coast (at least between Clearwater and St. Pete Beach where I go) and where there are dolphins, you don%26#39;t see as many shark attacks. But it seems like the two worst areas recently have been the panhandle area (Gulf coast) and along the Volusia coast (Atlantic). But that doesn%26#39;t mean those areas will be the ones hardest hit this year. The only fatality was off the panhandle. If you want to get in the water and stay clear of the sharks, try to stick with just being in the surf around knee deep and book a hotel with a pool for your real swimming. There was an article in the Orlando Sentinel just this week about Florida retaining it%26#39;s title as shark capital of the US.

More Occurences of Shark Sightings on East Coast or Gulf...

Historically, its not even close. Over the last 120 years, there have been about (a rough estimate) 10 times as many shark attacks on the Atlantic coast as on the Gulf Coast (there was an earlier shark topic where I gave the website where I got my statistics; do a forum search on sharks or shark and you may find it; or just google for it). Volusia County (Daytona Beach, etc.) has the most of any county (173 over 120 years). However, some have suggested that the hurricanes may have screwed up things a bit. There was a shark attack last year on the Gulf coast somewhere north of Ft. Myers, in addition to the Panhandle ones (one of those someone was 200 yards away from shore). So who knows. Check for tips on how to avoid shark attacks.

But remember, if you drive to the beach from your hotel, chances are, you%26#39;d be more likely to get hurt in a car accident than to get attacked by a shark. People die on the roads every week in Florida.