Recent shark bites in Florida and Hawaii and a suspected case in New Jersey have piqued interest in the age-old summer question of whether it's safe to go in the water. Scientists and researchers who study sharks said the overwhelming answer to that question is yes, it is safe. Scientists say potentially dangerous interactions between humans and sharks are uncommon, and serious injuries and deaths from the bites are vanishingly rare. Nonetheless, the dramatic nature of shark bites and the stories of survivors capture the imagination. But there were only 57 unprovoked bites last year worldwide, and five of those were fatal.
