Sharks killed twice as many swimmers and surfers* last year than in 2010, with the increase due largely to a growth in tourism and changing shark patterns due to global warming.

    There were 12 deaths in 46 shark attacks in 2011, a mortality* rate of more than 25 percent compared to an average of under 7 percent in the last 10 years, according to statistics from the University of Florida.

    Countries that recorded shark attack deaths included Australia with three fatal out of a total of 11 attacks; South Africa, two fatal out of five; the French island of Reunion, two deaths in four attacks; and Seychelles with two attacks both of which ended in death.

    Three locations not normally associated with high numbers of shark attacks — Reunion, Seychelles and New Caledonia — registered a total of seven attacks with five fatalities, according to Burgess. “Those areas were not traditional areas for tourism in recent years,” the scientist explained.

    “Over the last decade, more and more tourists have been going there... So we are getting more people coming to places where there are sharks, and the local communities are not prepared for the number of people going into the water at this time.”

    He added that medical facilities in these areas may not be developed enough to provide treatment in emergencies* of this type.

    In addition to the influx* of tourists, the effects of global warming have meant sharks migrating* to regions where they were not normally seen.

    Last August, authorities in the Far East of Russia reported three non-fatal shark attacks in the Primorye region — not a normal location for the predator*.

    The United States experienced the most shark attacks with a total of 29 out of 75 reported around the world, but suffered no fatal cases, said George Burgess, an ichthyologist* from the University of Florida, which published the “International Shark Attack File.”

    A third of all shark species, including the Great White, are threatened with extinction* because of overfishing and demand in Asia for their fins*, to which people wrongly attribute nutritious* properties.

     (SD-Agencies)