5 Florida Beaches With The Most Shark Attacks

There are multiple theories as to why Florida beaches are seeing an increase in shark sightings. These theories range from improved monitoring to human error. While each of these affects shorelines differently, the main similarity seems to be human-shark interactions. We spoke with Dr. Jennifer Brandon, an environmental scientist and sustainability expert from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, to gain insight on why this is becoming more routine.

Cocoa Beach

Cocoa Beach is known for its proximity to Cape Canaveral and for the popular wave breaks that attract surfers. For sharks, these waters are also familiar feeding grounds. A video taken in 2024 shows sharks swarming a charter boat as the captain recorded. Jamie Glasner, of Fin and Fly Charters, claimed there were roughly 20 sharks in the water while he was filming. At the time, a fisherman on the boat was reeling in a sizable snapper, further proof that these waters are heavy feeding grounds for a variety of sharks. In the interview with Click Orlando, Glaner claims this is now a “normal” sighting, and many locals agree.

As of 2025, Cocoa Beach has had 39 shark attacks. It’s home to more shark sightings in Brevard County than many other beachside cities, making up roughly 25% of all the county’s reported shark attacks. A majority of these shark attacks are unprovoked. Many of them involve surfers, with a majority of injuries affecting the lower extremities. This suggests the curious nature of sharks, rather than aggressive apex predator behavior.

Palm Beach

Palm Beach is one of Florida’s top summer destinations, located near Jupiter, which is also known for its shark sightings. As of 2025, Palm Beach has had 35 shark attacks in the last two centuries. This number may not seem significant, but it accounts for 42% of all recorded shark attacks in Palm Beach County. Besides being a top tourist destination, the waters of Palm Beach are renowned for their vibrant ecological diversity. This attracts many swimmers, but is also attractive to the sharks that frequent the area in search of food.

Palm Beach is a known migration trail for blacktip sharks. The migration period runs from January to April, making these waters a hotbed of shark activity. Swimmers and fishermen are especially prone to shark encounters, especially during early spring when waters are just warming up. In 2023, Steven Reinhardt was swimming near West Palm Beach when a shark latched onto his arm and thrashed, effectively shredding the skin and muscle of his arm. One cast, stitches, and a skin graft later, Reinhardt survived the ordeal but cautions against swimming in deep, murky water.

Indialantic Ocean Beach Park

Indialantic Ocean Beach Park is renowned for its boardwalk, which is a popular attraction among beachgoers. While it’s not a popular spot for swimmers, it’s well-known for surfing. As a designated sea turtle nesting site, it’s abundant with marine life and has a bustling ecosystem. This also means it’s home to many sharks, as it sits between the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. The change in shark population may also be triggered by human activity, according to Dr. Brandon. “They [sharks] are being attracted farther poleward as waters get warmer with climate change, and so we are seeing them on coastlines where we never saw them before, as their habitat range is changing,” she says. “Another reason is that their prey is changing its range, and so they are coming closer to shore in search of food when there are scarce resources, especially in areas where there is overfishing.”

There have been 30 shark attacks recorded at Indialantic Ocean Beach Park, most of them being surfers. One was an unprovoked bite to a beachgoer wading in shallow water in 2014, likely by an overly curious or confused shark. However, these shark attacks account for yet another 19% of all reported shark attacks in Brevard County. Combined with Cocoa Beach, these two beaches make up roughly 44% of Brevard County’s shark attacks.

Daytona Beach

In January, a 1,400-pound great white named Breton was tagged off the coast of Daytona Beach. The shark surfaced three times in one day as it swam from Daytona Beach to Palm Coast. It’s one of many sharks that have taken up residence in the warm waters of Volusia County during the winter. As a result, Daytona Beach, a popular tourist hotspot, is no stranger to shark sightings. In an interview with Click Orlando, Volusia Beach Safety Deputy Chief Tammy Malphurs says that daily shark interactions are not unusual for locals. Another facet of shark sightings at popular beaches, such as Daytona, is increased monitoring. “There is also the theory that sharks are not actually coming closer to our shorelines than before, but we are just getting better at spotting them,” says Dr. Brandon, adding that our method for tagging and tracking sharks is more advanced than ever. “So it seems like there are sharks at the beach all the time now, when in reality some of it may be sampling bias–we are sampling the water better for sharks, and so we are finding more sharks. I do believe shark numbers are going up due to some successful conservation work over the last few decades, but the sampling bias is a real part of the story as well!” She adds.

Volusia County has seen 359 shark attacks since 1882, according to the International Shark Attack File. As of 2025, 67 of those shark attacks happened at Daytona Beach. This ranks it the third most dangerous beach in the U.S., and one of the highest in the world for shark attacks. According to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, shark bites are still incredibly rare. Sharks are more active between April and October, which coincides with prime beach season in Florida. This could explain why there are so many more shark encounters reported at these beaches than anywhere else.

New Smyrna Beach

New Smyrna Beach has gained a reputation for being the “Shark Bite Capital of the World.” Out of Volusia County’s 359 shark attacks, more than 300 incidents happened at New Smyrna Beach since 1882. Bull sharks, spinner sharks, and blacktips make up most of the shark population in these waters. The sharks’ migration paths take them straight past New Smyrna Beach, which is why encounters are frequent. Blacktips, primarily, are known to swim in shallow water and are responsible for most of the bites.

New Smyrna Beach also holds the record for the most shark attacks in the U.S. As it turns out, there’s another reason sharks love this beach so much: It’s nutrient-rich tide. The beach’s proximity to the Ponce Inlet outflow creates an ongoing ebb and flow of nutrient-dense water. “There is recent research tracking sharks that shows some are actually adapting to our populated shorelines and coming closer, because one: coastlines have nutrient runoff and sewage, which attracts fish at the bottom of the food chain that then attracts sharks. And two: because fishermen often toss discarded bait fish and fish guts nearer to shore, which attracts sharks,” says Dr. Brandon. “So in areas of dense populations and coastal cities, the sharks are actually coming closer rather than retreating, because there is more food.” Essentially, the “Shark Bite Capital of the World” is the ideal spot for both shark feeding and avid surfers.

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