ASSOCIATED PRESS • May 23, 2023
Recent shark bites in Florida and Hawaii and a suspected case in New Jersey have piqued interest in an age-old summer question for beachgoers — is it safe to go in the water? Scientists and researchers who study sharks said the overwhelming answer to that question is yes, it is safe. Potentially dangerous interactions between humans and sharks are uncommon, and serious injuries and deaths from the bites are vanishingly rare. You’re at exponentially greater risk of getting hurt in a car accident on the way to the beach than you are to get seriously injured by a shark bite.