Shark sightings prompt beach closures in NY
Shark researcher Joe Romeiro weighs in as sharks move along the eastern seaboard
Shark sightings and attacks have closed beaches across the coastal U.S. this summer, forcing swimmers back indoors.
America led the world in unprovoked shark bites last year, with a tally of 33 – three of which were fatal, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File (ISAF).
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Florida led the country in unprovoked bites, making up for nearly half of the 33.
While there are more than 500 species of sharks found around the world, there are greater than 50 shark species off the East Coast and even fewer in Pacific waters.
Stubby Bullhead sharks, reaching just five feet in length, live on the shallow seafloor of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Ocean Initiative.
A great white shark swims underwater (istock)
Conversely, whale sharks as long as 60 feet have also been seen near off the Southern Californian coastline.
Oregon's Department of Fish & Wildlife lists the salmon shark, spiny dogfish, soupfin shark, common thresher shark, basking shark, blue shark as native to its coastal waters, among others.
Other notable Pacific sharks include the cookiecutter shark, broadnose sevengill shark, the leopard shark and filetail catfish shark.
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Much like the sandbar shark, white sharks are found on both coasts and great whites are the world's largest known predatory fish, the World Wildlife Foundation reports.
On the Atlantic coastline, shark species like Atlantic blacktip, spinner, Atlantic sharpnose, lemon sharks, smooth dogfish, spiny dogfish, sand tiger and blacktip reef sharks are frequently seen near shores.
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) coastal survey this year captured nearly 2,5000 sharks from 11 different species.
Shark populations have been recovering since gaining federal protection and several other steps have since been taken to protect the marine predators.
All sharks, scientists say, get a bad reputation from the actions of the few.
It's a "Jaws"-propelled narrative that experts are now hoping to alter, rebranding the term "shark attack" to "incident," "bites," or "negative encounter."
Globally, there were around 129 alleged shark-human interactions in 2020, according to the ISAF.
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Most of the bites were related to surfing, swimming and wading.
There were 13 three shark-related fatalities, 10 of which were confirmed to be classified as unprovoked.
