Interaction with Human s Attitudes and impressions about sharks are slowly beginning to change. As more people move to coastal area, take part in water sports, or learn about marine environments, positive shark-human interactions have increased over the years. Diving and snorkeling trips provide the opportunity for close observation of sharks in their own habitat. Although we may be unaware, we consistently share the water with many types of sharks. In areas of heavy ocean recreation, such as Florida, attacks are more common.
Encounters range from a brush or bump to serious bites.
The fear of these attacks is much greater than the actual risk. Injuries from other animals result in many more deaths each year. For example, over 50 fatal snakebites occur annually in Brazil alone. Beach injuries or fatalities from drowning, heart attack, and jelly fish or stingray wounds are far more common than bites or abrasions inflicted by sharks. If a diver is bitten after pulling on the tail of a shark or a fishermen is bitten by a shark that has been landed, these occurrences are included as attacks.