This Florida beach is the ‘Shark Bite Capital of the World’

This Florida beach is the ‘Shark Bite Capital of the World’

Summer is here and that means plenty of folks are looking to get out and get down to the beach for a nice getaway.

A trip to the beach can be a good time as long as you dodge what’s out there in the water.

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And we are not just talking sharks.

Turns out, there’s some really gross stuff floating around out there at some of our favorite beaches, too.

But if you aren’t overly concerned with that, it might be worth it for some to know the one beach in the country which has just been named — again — the country’s most dangerous.

That beach?

Florida’s New Smyrna Beach.

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Never heard of New Smyrna? Well, it’s really just a quick drip down the road from Daytona Beach, and it is one of the most popular surfing towns on the East Coast because, while it doesn’t have the huge, crashing waves you see out on the West Coast, it does have a steady, rolling break. It makes for consistent waves.

Sharks really love the place, too, and there are numbers to back it up.

Florida led the nation in sharks attacks last year with 16. Half of those came in Volusia County, where Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach are located. Per the report, 94 shark bites were reported in the county from 2012-to-2021. Some perspective there, the same report said about 400,000 tourists check in there each year.

Per one report, the inlet at New Smyrna Beach “forms a strong tidal flow in the ocean, which creates an ideal feeding ground for the sharks and a consistent surf break for surfers.”

And that — the combination of plenty of sharks and plenty of surfers — is why it has earned the nickname, “Shark Bite Capital of the World.”

That said, New Smyrna Beach is beautiful, and Daytona Beach is fun, too. One report noted you are “more likely to die by lightning or fireworks” than to die from a shark attack at either.

They are worthwhile trips, but it doesn’t hurt to know that you will be dipping your toes into a literal feeding ground and what could come with that.