5 Shark-Infested Texas Beaches With the Most Attacks

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Written By Blue & Gold NLR Team

 

 

The International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History says that 44 shark strikes have been recorded in Texas waters since 1911. But more shark strikes happen on a few beaches in Texas than anywhere else in the state. We are going to learn about the places in the Lone Star State where shark attacks have happened more often than else.

Even though 44 shark attacks have been proven in Texas, the chances of getting bitten by a shark there are very low. In fact, the most recent known shark attack in Texas was in 2016. In the state, the last shark attack that killed someone happened in 1962. Before that, no one had been killed by a shark in Texas since 1937.

Now, let’s look at the Texas beaches where sharks are most likely to attack.

5. The Pirates Beach

In 2016, a shark attacked at Pirates Beach in Texas. It was one of the most recent attacks in Texas. This Texas beach is full of sharks, and a 3- to 4-foot shark of an unknown type bit a 6-year-old girl in the leg.

Almost never is the type of shark that is thought to have attacked written down. Before that, the last attack at Pirates Beach happened in 2004. A 16-year-old boy was bitten on the leg by a shark that was 3 to 5 feet long. Both kids made it through with only minor bruises.

4. Surfside Beach

One of the beaches in Texas with the most sharks is Surfside Beach. In three different attacks, this beach has been the site of no deaths. A 12-year-old boy was attacked by a shark at Surfside Beach for the first time in 1989.

A four-foot-long shark bit the boy while he was surfing. In the next attack, which happened in 2013, a 15-year-old boy was hurt slightly. The last time a shark attacked at Surfside Beach was in 2016. One adult male spearfisher was bitten by two bull sharks during this attack.

3. Galveston Beach

Galveston Beach is another Texas beach where sharks live. There have been three attacks on this beach, and one of them killed someone. This terrible attack happened in 1937 and killed a 14-year-old boy who was swimming at night.

The next attack happened in 2010, and it was a guy fisherman who was over 18. In 2015, a 13-year-old boy was attacked by a shark that was about 4 to 5 feet long and got slight injuries.

2. South Padre Island

There are several beaches on an island in Texas that are home to the second most sharks in the state. There have been eight shark attacks on South Padre Island. The first one took place in 1953, and the most recent one in 2011. The attacks did not kill anyone, and most of the people who were hurt were only slightly hurt.

The most recent attack happened in 2011, when a shark bit a man who was surf fishing and caused him minor injuries. A 14-year-old girl was bitten by a shark in 2009. In 2006, a man was surfing when he got bitten on the foot. In 2005, another man was bitten on the leg.

A mako shark bit a surfer’s board in 2004 but didn’t bite the rider. When the boy was 14, a shark bit him on the leg, but the wound was not too bad. Since 1984, when a 13-year-old girl was bitten, there hadn’t been an attack until 2001.

1. Mustang Island/Port Aransas

Mustang Island has the most sharks of any beach in Texas. Mustang Island is made up of a group of beaches that connect to each other and end at Port Aransas in the north. Over the years, nine shark attacks on these beaches have not killed anyone. Three shark bites happened on Mustang Island in 1987, the first year that sharks were seen there.

The last time a shark attacked Mustang Island was in 2011. It was about a 14-year-old boy who got bit on the foot while fishing. Before that, a six-year-old boy was bitten on the foot in 2005, which was the last attack. In 2000, a lemon shark bit a five-year-old boy on the foot. In 1990 and 1995, there were more attempts, but only a few people were hurt.

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