Annotated List of Authenticated Fatal Shark Attacks Along the Pacific Coast of North America 1900 - Present

From 1900 to the present there have been 163 authenticated unprovoked shark attacks reported from the Pacific Coast of North America. The breakdown by state is; Washington 1, Oregon 20, and California 142. There have been 11 fatal shark attacks reported from California over the past 60 years. The White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, was either positively identified or highly suspect in all 12 fatalities. The White Shark was implicated in 120 (85%) of the 142 attacks reported from California.

* As noted in “Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century” the forensic evidence and circumstances surrounding the death of Michelle Von Emster, April 15, 1994 do not support the conclusion that a shark, more specifically a White Shark, was responsible.

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