It’s shark season. How worried should you be?

Humans have been afraid of sharks since long before “Jaws” and “The Meg” patrolled summer movie screens. Whether it’s the teeth or the lifeless eyes, something about them can just make your blood run cold.

Marine biologists are quick to say this fear is way out of proportion. Lightning strikes and bear attacks are more common than shark bites, they say. Of the more than 500 species of shark, only a handful have ever attacked humans, and most bites in the United States can be traced to just four species.

Even in Hawaii, which has the highest number of recent shark-related deaths, you are at least 130 times more likely to drown than die by a shark. There were 36 unprovoked shark attacks in the United States in 2023, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History; they caused two deaths.

But risk is a funny thing, and knowing the numbers rarely makes you feel better — especially after watching “Sharknado.” So this summer The New York Times asked a simple question: What can you do to make your chance of a shark attack even smaller?

What’s your risk of a shark attack?

The answer depends on a few factors, starting with where you are and what month it is.

For example, Hawaii, which leads the country in fatal attacks, sees one about every other year, and the risk of bites more than doubles in October. Conversely, only two shark bites have ever been recorded in Washington state.

Hawaii is probably the most dangerous state for shark attacks. While it has the second-highest number of recorded bites, many have been serious. In 2023, for instance, it saw half as many bites as Florida, but one was deadly. This year Hawaii has had a fatal attack.

An unusually high number of bites occur in October, which is likely related to the fact that pregnant tiger sharks congregate close to shore. Fortunately, that is a shoulder season, when the beaches are less crowded than in winter and summer.

Most serious attacks involve tiger sharks, but blacktips and great whites do swim off Hawaiian shores. Most encounters involve board sports like surfing, but snorkelers are at some risk, especially in murkier water. The island of Maui sees the largest number of attacks.

Hammerhead sharks live in Hawaii but very rarely bother humans.

Some activities are riskier

The other factor that most puts you at risk for a shark bite is what you happen to be doing in the water.

Surfing

Surfers are unquestionably the most at risk for shark bites. In the 2010s, about three times as many people worldwide were attacked surfing and doing other board sports than swimming and wading.

Surfboards can be confusing to sharks. From below, a surfer resembles a seal, and a dangling foot looks like a floundering fish. Moreover, sharks have a special ability to detect electrical currents to find prey, and a surfer sitting on a board can confuse them.

Surfers also tend to stay in the water for a long time. The countless hours they spend floating, waiting for waves, simply creates more opportunities for a shark to mistake a surfer for lunch.

Swimming and wading

Swimming alone in open water is another higher-risk activity, though attacks can also occur while people are wading or walking in shallow water. Many sharks, even large ones, can patrol surprisingly shallow waters looking for fish.

In Hawaii and Florida, snorkelers have had a number of run-ins with sharks. Most of the serious encounters have been in Hawaii and involved tiger sharks. A fair number of minor injuries are caused by snorkelers’ hassling of otherwise timid carpet sharks.

Kayaking

Kayaking and canoeing are among the safest activities in shark habitats. Of the few encounters on record, most led to a damaged boat — though several kayak deaths have occurred over the years.

Roughly half of the documented attacks involved people fishing from their boat. And the vast majority occurred in California, perhaps because of its size and the popularity of kayaking there.

Diving

Attacks on scuba divers are rare, but they do happen and are occasionally fatal. Many involve divers who are spearfishing or collecting other sea life. Sharks are often scavengers; it’s important to be aware of your surroundings if you’re carrying a dead ocean creature, especially after you surface.

There are steps you can take to avoid attracting a shark’s attention. Do not dive alone, and if you see a potentially dangerous shark, try to keep an eye on it as you exit the water.

Fishing

Fishing — from shore, on a boat or with a spear gun — can increase your risk of an attack. Anytime you are carrying bait or dead fish on your body, the chances go up that a shark will take an interest. And shark fishermen are naturally at risk of being bitten by their quarries.

It’s wise to fish with an experienced partner. If you are wading or swimming near popular fishing areas, you might be at higher risk.

Poking, manhandling

The statistics in this article mostly refer to unprovoked bites. But there have been reports of shark attacks from people feeding, grabbing, petting, kicking, chasing and, in at least one case, kissing wild sharks. These types of attacks seem to be especially common among social media influencers.

Provoked attacks aren’t limited to coastal states, either. Kentucky managed to rack up 12 shark attacks in 2006 after the aquarium in Newport opened a shark petting exhibit. And, at the Boat and Sports Show in 1996 in St. Louis, an underwater performer was bitten by a confused nurse shark named Bob. In all those cases, no one was seriously harmed.

How to avoid an attack

There isn’t a shark on Earth that sees humans as a natural food source; almost every unprovoked attack is from mistaken identity. So the key to staying safe is making it clear you are not shark food. Because attacks are so rare, it’s hard to be sure how effective certain precautions are, but here are a few that experts suggest.

Stay in groups

Sharks are skittish, and a group of humans is more obviously not food than one person.

Be cautious mornings and evening

Many sharks, especially younger white and tiger sharks, hunt at dawn and dusk, when low light makes it harder for them to see as clearly. There are also fewer people in the water at these times, and sharks are more likely to wander toward shore.

Stay away from shark food

Avoid seal colonies and schools of fish. When fish wander toward the shore or seals gather on the beach, sharks tend to follow. Many beach towns will monitor fish movements and shark sightings and post advisories if either come toward shore. If you see dolphins and birds feeding, assume a shark is in the water, too.

Watch what you wear

Don’t worry about the color of your bathing suit — sharks are mostly colorblind. But they do see contrast and are always looking for floundering fish, so it’s good to leave shiny jewelry (which can resemble a fish’s scaly underbelly) at home.

Don’t worry about an open wound

A common belief is that sharks are drawn to open wounds and even to menstrual blood. This isn’t true. Experts say sharks are no more interested in the blood of land mammals than a spilled can of soda. And they can certainly tell the difference between a dying seal and a cut on your leg.

Please don’t play with sharks

It shouldn’t need to be said, but sharks don’t like to have their tails pulled, nor do they like being kissed. Just … don’t.

If you’re attacked

Most shark attacks are quick: a sudden impact, and then the animal retreats. In the slim chance that a shark holds on, don’t think about which sensitive spot on them is best to strike; go for all of them. Eyes, gills, snout — anything you can find. Sharks want an easy meal, so struggle and cause as much pain to them as you can to get them to back off.

Sharks almost never attack humans twice, so focus on getting out of the water without panicking.

Many deaths from shark bites could be prevented with a little bit of preparation. Regular surfers might want to buy a marine tourniquet and take a wilderness first aid class. Some beaches now provide first aid kits for heavy bleeding. Familiarize yourself with their contents or carry one of your own, if you spend a lot of time in the water.

So, how dangerous are sharks?

The risk of being attacked by a shark is extremely small, but not zero. In Volusia County, the shark-bite capital of the world, you are twice as likely to be killed with a gun than injured by a shark.

Still, statistics like this are little comfort to families of those killed by sharks, and they might not put your mind at ease as you wade into the ocean. So here is what we can say: If a shark recognizes you as a human, the danger is almost nonexistent.

How do we know? Recent drone studies have found that white sharks swim much closer to humans, and much more often, than previously thought. In fact, if you are a surfer or regular swimmer, you have probably been near a large shark without knowing it.

Attacks are so rare because sharks are very good at knowing what is food and what isn’t. And humans simply aren’t on their menus.

Some people will never be able to go into the ocean without worrying about sharks. But as you head to your favorite beach, remember this: You are entering their world. The reason you are safe is that they just don’t care about you.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2024 The New York Times Company