by Jonathan Drake
Authority Explorer

If you haven't yet noticed the slight influx in shark attacks lately, might I suggest you come out from that hole in the ground.

In Florida alone, there have been at least 28 shark attacks off New Smyrna Beach, Florida, this year -- nearly two-thirds of the total reported worldwide.  Sharks attacked nine persons off New Smyrna Beach last week alone.

The most popular attack was in July, when an 8-year-old Mississippi boy's arm was severed, and he lost nearly all his blood in an attack by a bull shark in Pensacola on Florida's Gulf Coast.  The child survived, his arm being reattached, but to this day he still isn't fully coherent.

Why?  Why the sudden increase in shark attacks?  Ask a different person, and you'll get a different answer.

"I think shark populations are growing in the United States.  I think conservation measures are working.  And if you have more sharks interacting with people, it stands to reason you're going to have more people being hit," says Russell Hudson, spokesman for the Directed Shark Fishery Association.

Chris Smith, a spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service in St. Petersburg, Florida, has a different opinion.  "The single most important factor to which we can attribute this perceived rise is that there is more interaction between sharks and people as a result of more aquatic recreation and more coastal growth."

One fact is certain:  Attacks are being much more publicized.  Although there has been a rise in attacks in the last two years, we're hearing about them more than ever.  Mr. Smith went on to say, "Scientists tell me this year will probably be nothing worse than an average year.  Attacks have just been more widely publicized."

In short, don't be paranoid about going in the water . . . unless, of course, you live off New Smyrna Beach.