People assist a teenage girl at the scene of a shark attack in Oak Island, N.C., Sunday, June 14, 2015. Mayor Betty Wallace of Oak Island, a seaside town bordered to the south by the Atlantic Ocean, said that hours after the teenage girl suffered severe injuries in a shark attack Sunday a teenage boy was also severely injured. Steve Bouser/The Pilot, Southern Pines, N.C. via AP FILE PHOTO
GAINESVILLE, Florida— Experts say 2015 saw a record-setting 98 unprovoked shark attacks worldwide, including 30 in Florida alone.
The Florida Museum of Natural History released the numbers Monday. Scientists say the previous record was 88 attacks in 2000.
International Shark Attack File curator George Burgess says attacks are expected to continue to increase as human populations grow and shark populations recover.
Of the six fatalities last year, two happened off the Indian Ocean island of Reunion; the others occurred off Australia, Egypt, New Caledonia and the United States.
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The U.S. led the world with 59 attacks, including those in Florida, eight in each of the Carolinas and seven in Hawaii. California and Texas each had two attacks, and New York and Mississippi each had one.
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Australia and South Africa followed the U.S. with 18 and 8 attacks, respectively.