UF wildlife expert explains increase of shark interactions in Florida

CEDAR KEY, Fla. (WCJB) – Many North Central Florida residents have taken to social media to share their shark encounters both on the Gulf Coast and in the Atlantic Ocean.

While there have always been reported shark incidents at Florida, 2024 has seemed to have an increase. In 2023, the state of Florida had 16 confirmed shark attacks. This year, there have been more than 10 cases so far.

Florida is known as a vacation hub with many tourists, and residents alike, participating in water activities from the beach to rivers.

At Cedar Key, University of Florida wildlife expert Mike Allen spoke on the increase in shark encounters during this summer. Allen said beachgoers are not the only ones heading to the coast, “the summertime is when the sharks are in the northern Gulf of Mexico. They migrate south in the winter. So that’s also where they overlap [with swimmers].”

This migration is not just for this summer, each summer there is always a higher likelihood of a shark interaction when more people are in the water.

It is not only the sharks migration along the coast, but the exact environments people are swimming around. At Cedar Key, swimmers may see a shark due to the draw of the estuarine environment to wildlife. Allen commented, “this is a very productive estuary that has a lot of food resources for sharks,” so it is common to see them while beachgoers flood the beach.

Allen spoke beyond the change in beachgoers habits, to speak on how local legislation and climate change are impacting shark interaction dynamics.

He credits conservation efforts in helping increase shark abundance, saying “both recreational, commercial restrictions on harvest, the reduction in shark finning practices, those kinds of things have all contributed to increases in shark populations.”

Along with human impact through legislation, climate change is also said to play a role. Allen explained how climate exchange impacts species distribution, which changes how often humans are interacting with these animals. He said, “we’re seeing lots of more tropical fish species that are moving north in the Gulf of Mexico in response to climate change, and sharks are no exception.”

While beachgoers across North Central Florida may be concerned with an increase of shark interactions over the social media pages,

However, Allen tells everyone of shark’s importance in the state’s ecosystem, as they help keep the oceanic food web balanced and healthy.

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