Shark Attack Records Set in 2015: 98 in World, 59 in US

Shark attacks around the world set a new record in 2015 with 98 incidents, six of them leading to fatalities, according to information released on Monday. There were 59 U.S. shark attacks.

International Shark Attack File investigators researched 164 global incidents involving alleged shark/human encounters and confirmed the unprovoked 98 attacks, according to an ISAF report. The organization defines unprovoked attacks as incidents where an attack on a live human occurs in the shark's natural habitat with no human provocation.

ISAF blames the increase in part on the ocean warning from El Nino, global warming in general, lack of severe storms in most developed countries and a higher number of people at beaches, increases the chances of shark-human interaction, according to National Geographic.

The report said the 59 U.S. shark attacks was also a record, with high activity along the southeast coast of the Carolinas and Florida. The ISAF said the previous record was 53 attacks in 2000 and then again in 2012. Data showed that Australia had 18 shark attacks and South Africa eight.

George Burgess of the Florida Museum of Natural History, who compiled the report, told National Geographic that the increased numbers don't mean it is time for humans to stay out of the water.

"The chances for any individual who goes in the water surviving have probably never been higher, since there are so many more of us going out than before," said Burgess. "There were more car fatalities in 2015 than 1950, but that doesn't mean cars are more dangerous. It means there are a lot more out there."

Burgess told CNN that while the number of attacks may be lower in 2016 because of global weather conditions, as long as there are more humans in the water to bite, sharks will more than likely bite them if they wander in their habitat.

"Over the coming years, we're going to see a lot more of these attacks," said Burgess.

The International Shark Attack File is the longest running database on shark attacks, documenting and confirming attacks around the world, according to its website. The file is administered by the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida under the auspices of the American Elasmobranch Society.

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