Top 10 Beaches With Most Shark Attacks

July 24, 2009, 03:32 AM Post Comments

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Before you plan the perfect beach getaway--be it in the hot summer months or as an escape to warmer climes in the cold winter--you might want to check this list from the International Shark Attack File published by the Danish travel Web site Tgt.dk that lists the top 10 most dangerous beaches. And by dangerous we don't mean pounding waves or high crime. We mean sharks.

What are your mathematical chances of being attacked by a shark? Click to find out.

Top 10 beaches with the most shark attacks:
1. Smyrna Beach, Florida
In 2007, 112 people were attacked around the world and 17 of these attacks occurred at Smyrna Beach.

2. Northern Shore on Oahu, Hawaii
Oahu is an ocean island, and the waters around it are infested with sharks. The most dangerous spot is the local surfer's favorite: Velzyland Beach.

3. Long Beach Island, New Jersey
It was Long Beach Island that inspired Peter Benchley when he wrote the best-selling novel "Jaws." A slew of shark attacks took place in 1916, but the beach is safe today.

4. West End, Grand Bahama Island
Tiger sharks infest the waters surrounding this Caribbean island. There haven't been many attacks in recent years, although an Austrian tourist was killed by a shark in 2008.

5. Beaches of Brevard County, Florida
From Cocoa Beach to Jetty Park and Klondlike Beach, shark attacks are plentiful here with 90 reported over the past 100 years.

Click to see four very different, up-close shots of the rarely seen frilled shark, which lives more than 2,000 feet under the sea. The 5-foot long frilled shark looks more like an eel than a shark, but has a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth.

6. Horry County, South Carolina
In the last 100 years, more than 50 people have been attacked on the beaches of Horry County, most of which occurred to swimmers and surfers at Myrtle Beach. But the last reported death caused by a shark occurred in 1852.

7. Solana Beach, California
The sharks infesting the waters near this beach are attracted to the seals that also live here. In 2008, a 66-year-old man, who was swimming, was bitten by a great white shark that was apparently attracted to the seals.

8. Northern Australian Coast, Australia
It's not just sharks that invest these waters. The other deadly creature is the box jellyfish, which have killed 60 people in the last 100 years. An average of 40 people are hospitalized annually after encountering this poisonous jellyfish.

9. Galveston, Texas
Since 1911, there have only been 13 reported attacks around the beaches of Galveston, but locals still have a healthy respect for the sharks.

10. Zihuatanejo, Mexico
There was a rash of fatal attacks by sharks on these beaches north of Acapulco in 2008, but all is calm now.

Find out the top 10 beaches in the U.S.A.