As shark week kicks off on Discovery Channel, in its 25th year, people are once again reminded of the deadly sea creatures. The sharks seen on TV are out in the waters around the world and an encounter with one could mean trouble. There have already been dozens of shark attacks around the United States.
Travelers Today has compiled a list of all of the recorded US shark attacks so far in 2012. A majority of the attacks have taken place in Florida, particularly at New Smyrna Beach, but there were also many in Hawaii, the Carolinas, and California. For the first time in decades, a man was attacked by a shark in Massachusetts at the end of July. The shark turned out the be a great white.
Although shark attacks are not extremely common, you may want to reconsider swimming around these beaches where these attacks have taken place.
Here is a rundown of the shark attacks that have occurred in the US so far.
Florida
On June 26, 6-year old Nickolaus Bieber was wading in waist deep water near the Juno Beach Pier in Jupiter. The shark bit three-quarters of his right thigh, taking out a big chunk, but it managed to avoid major vessels and nerves. Officials believe a bull shark was responsible.
Also on June 26, a 26-year-old surfer was bit in the foot by a shark in New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County. The bite was minor.
Also on New Smyrna Beach, another surfer was bitten two days earlier on June 24. The 21-year-old suffered from minor lacerations to one of his feet.
On June 22, 12-year-old Patrick McInerney suffered a minor injury from a shark while swimming at Martin County's Bathtub Reef Beach.
On June 15, a fisherman was bitten by a shark that he caught in the Florida Keys. The 23-year-old was bit in the hand when he tried to take the nurse shark off of the hook.
On Jun 2, 13-year-old Angelina DelRosso was celebrating her 13th birthday at Bethune Beach, just south of New Smyrna Beach. She was surfing when a shark attacked her board and bit her in the thigh, leaving her with a wound that required 21 stitches.
On May 23, 22-year-old Chad Renfro was surfing when he was attacked by a shark that bit his foot. The shark bit severed a nerve, ripped a tendon and took part of his bone, resulting in 85 stitches.
On May 9, German tourist Karin Ulrike Stei, 47, was bitten by a shark on Vero Beach. The shark took a large section of Stei's upper left thigh down to the bone.
On April 19, a 28-year-old man was bit on the hand as he was paddling out on a surfboard on a beach in Melbourne. He required reconstructive surgery as both his ring finger and pinkie were severely lacerated.
On March 24, Joey Coppola, 21, received minor lacerations to his foot after a shark bit him while he was surfing at New Smyrna Beach. The shark was 4 to 5 feet long.
On March 15, Frank A. Wacha, 61, was surfing of Jensen Public Beach when a five to six-foot bull shark bit his arm. Wacha received bites from his forearm to upper arm, but none of his injuries were life-threatening.
On March 14, 15-year-old Sidney Levy was surfing with her mother when a shark pulled her off her board and bit her ankle off New Smyrna Beach. An ambulance happened to be there at the time because 17-year-old Nick Romano has just been bitten in the leg by a shark. Romano received 17 stitches. Levy was rushed to the hospital for surgery but was released a few hours later.
On March 4, a 19-year-old Justin Worrall received minor injuries to his leg after a shark bit him as he was kitesurfing off Playalinda Beach in northern Brevard County.
On February 26, Jason Lasser was kitesurfing at an inlet near Lake Worth when he claims his right foot struck a spinner shark in the mouth, opening a gash that severed tendons and ligaments. Lasser had his foot surgically repaired.
Hawaii
Steve Stotts, of Kauai was attacked by a shark on July 30 while he was surfing. The shark bit into his foot, severed a tendon, and left him hospitalized with 24 stitches.
On June 26, California teenager Sage St. Clair was attacked by a small reef shark while in shallow waters on Kahana Beach on Maui. The shark bit her leg.
On May 20, Jerry Gallardo was kayaking off Iroquois Point in Honolulu when a shark bit his kayak. Gallardo did not receive any injuries.
On April 3, a ten foot Tiger shark attacked 28-year-old Joshua Holley while he was surfing on Oahu's North Shore.
South Carolina
On June 14, four people were bitten by a shark at Myrtle Beach, Horry County, South Carolina. Sixteen year old Jordon Garosalo was bitten on the foot. An 18-year-old girl was bitten on her foot and then her hand when she tried to fight the shark off. Two others were also injured that same day. Officials believe it was a blacktip shark.
On June 2, a shark severely bit 25-year-old Ryan Orellana-Maczynski on the foot while he was boogie boarding in Myrtle Beach. He had to receive surgery to repair the wounds.
North Carolina
On July 24, a 12-year-old boy was bitten by an unidentified animal but it may have been a shark that left a huge gash in his leg while he was swimming on Ocean Isle Beach.
Also on Ocean Isle beach, a 6-year-old girl received several puncture wounds in her leg while she was swimming in shallow waters on June 18. She received 140 stitches.
On May 31, Megan Konkler, 33, was bitten by a shark that she accidentally stepped on while on vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She received 18 stitches on the top of her foot and five more on the bottom.
California
On July 7, a 52-year-old fisherman was kayaking near Pleasure Point in Monterey Bay when a 14-18-foot great white shark attacked his boat. The man was thrown from the kayak but he did not receive any injuries.
On May 12, Joey Nocchi was kayaking off of Leffingwell Landing in Cambria, when a 15-foot great white shark bit into his kayak. Nochhi was thrown out of the boat, but the shark swam away. He received no injuries.
On May 6, a 15-year-old girl was with a group of paddleboarders off Catalina Island when a shark bit into her board several times. She was not injured.
Massachusetts
On July 30, Chris Myers was body surfing with his teenage son off a popular Cape Cod beach when he was bit on both legs by what turned out to be a Great White Shark.
