But are there actually more sharks? Are more people being attacked? Or are we all just paying closer attention?CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICKAccording to wildlife biologist, TV personality and Shark Week host Forrest Galante, the answer is D) all of the above.Wildlife expert and biologist Forrest Galante spoke with OutKick Outdoors about shark attacks and some of his wildest adventures out in the field.(Forrest Galante)"It's a little bit of everything," Galante told OutKick Outdoors.
"Shark populations in a lot of places, like California and Florida, have rebounded because historically, 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago, we had overfished a lot of that area, and the sharks had moved out.So with good conservation efforts, the predators are coming back."In other words, seeing more sharks in some areas is not necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong.
It may be the opposite, actually.But at the same time, there are also more people in the water, more cameras capturing every encounter and more media attention any time something happens."We have cell phones, so the media around it is happening," Galante said.
"Summertime is when sharks like to hunt coastally and come close to the beaches, which is of course where and when we're swimming.So when you put all these factors together, that's why we see this spike in shark bites every single summer."Watch Forrest Galante's full interview with OutKick Outdoors here:According to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, researchers confirmed 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide in 2025, slightly below the 10-year average of 72.
Nine of those bites were fatal.The United States recorded 25 unprovoked bites, the most of any country, with Florida leading the nation at 11 reported incidents.No surprise there, given how much time Floridians spend in the water.In his new special, Forrest Galante scoured U.S.
waters searching for rare species of sharks, including off the coast of Massachuset...