Although it has been an active spring, shark attacks are rare along South Carolia's coast. In the past century, there have only been 36 shark attacks and three fatalities in South Carolina, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack Data Base. Those numbers do not include the most recent reports. Unlike the image portrayed in movies, sharks are not likely to attack humans. If they bite, they've mistaken you for food.
Sharks sometimes misinterpret the movement of swimmers for that of a fish.
Lang said once they bite and find it to be human, they go away. And the news of the attacks hasn't driven swimmers from the water. The North Charleston residents says she gets away to the beach at Isle of Palms almost every week and walk and swim.