Read more: Local, Grand Strand, Horry County Beaches, Shark Attacks, North America, Rank
It's a top ten ranking the Grand Strand may not want to brag about. A new report shows Horry County beaches have among the most shark attacks in North America.
But beachgoers here don't seem too worried about sharks. "I think about them, I'm very interested in sharks," said Sharon Wright, a Myrtle Beach resident.
The International Shark Attack file, a non-profit group based in Florida, puts Horry County beaches on the top ten list for most shark attacks in North America.
That's no surprise to a Coastal Carolina University graduate student who studies sharks. "This is one of the most populated beaches in the southeast, so if you have more people in the water, you have a greater chance of that interaction with human and a shark," said Craig O'Connell.
O'Connell says most sharks around here are Black Tips, which feed on species popular with pier fishermen. If a Black Tip strikes a human, it's by mistake. "What they're going to do is give you one of those investigatory bites, so they're going to come up to you, maybe give you a nip to see what you are," said O'Connell.
O'Connell has advice to help avoid being bitten or attacked by a shark. "If you don't swim during dawn or dusk, or swim right next to the pier, or swim in the middle of a school of bait fish, I think your chances are going to be greatly reduced of getting into a shark attack."
O'Connell says sharks have more to worry about from humans, than we do from them. "You have a much greater chance of getting struck by lightning or getting killed by a bee sting than actually getting attacked by a shark."
If you're still worried, consider this: the last shark fatality in South Carolina was in 1852.
New Smyrna Beach, Florida is the shark attack capital of the world.
