Shark Attacks in Gibraltar

What counts as a recorded attack?

Following the methodology of the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), a recorded attack is any confirmed case in which a live shark made physical contact with a living human in the water. Records distinguish between:

• Unprovoked — no human action initiated the encounter.
• Provoked — bite occurred during fishing, spearfishing, handling or feeding.
• Boat incidents — contact with vessels rather than swimmers.
• Scavenge — post-mortem bites, excluded from attack totals.

Why so few incidents?

The Strait is dominated by species that have little dietary or behavioural reason to interact with humans — small catsharks, plankton-feeding basking sharks and deep-water threshers. Larger predators such as great whites and shortfin makos are present but scarce, and tend to remain offshore in the deep central channel.