There were nine unprovoked shark attacks along the West Coast in 2017, none fatal. That's according to new information released by the Shark Research Committee.
Eight of the attacks happened along the coast of California and one from Washington State.
In 2016, there were five reported shark attacks along the West Coast.
But experts added the higher number of attacks in 2017 does not necessarily mean there is a significant increase in shark attacks. Rather, more people could have been in the water and other factors could have lead to the increase.
The most shark attacks for 2017 happened in July, when there were four.
Kayakers were attacked by sharks the most in 2017, followed by surfers, paddleboarders, freedivers and swimmers.
Experts believe the sharks might have seen the kayakers as intruders and were trying to drive them away.
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“It could also be that more people were out kayaking last year because we had great weather," added Chris Lowe, a professor of marine biology at California State University, Long Beach. "We have to start educating people that shark populations seem to be recovering and there are more white sharks around than there have been in the past.”
However, since 2000, surfers have been the most likely to be attacked, followed by kayakers then swimmers. 62 out of 103 attacks by sharks were on surfers, about 60 percent.
Lowe added the shark population is increasing due to protections.
"In 1994 we started protecting sharks because we realized how easy it would be to overfish them," said Lowe. "In addition, their food source, marine mammals, have come back in a big way, so that has fueled their numbers."
Sea lion populations, a natural prey animal of sharks, have increased over the last 40 years off the coast of California, research suggests.
The Great White Shark was most likely the suspect in all nine attacks, researchers added.
“With sharks you want to fight back,” added Lowe. “If a shark is biting you, you want to hit it in its eyes, stick your hand in its gils, bang it on its nose. Those are all sensitive areas that might get the shark to release.”
One shark attack was reported south of the Santa Barbara County line, with the remaining eight attacks from Santa Barbara County north.
