This State Set a Terrifying Shark-Related Record in 2025

California hit a scary shark-related record in 2025, according to data provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

California Reports Increase of 'Shark-Related Incidents'

The coastal state recorded its highest-number annual of “shark-related incidents” to date last year. In 2025, there were a total of 10 “shark-related incidents,” a term loosely defined as any contact between a human and a shark in the animal’s natural habitat. Last year’s incident count tops the previous record of nine, which was set nearly a decade ago in 2017.

Peter Tira, who works with the CDFW, confirmed to SFgate that the 10 incidents in 2025 were the “highest total number of shark incidents recorded in a single year” in California. “However, there were only three incidents with injuries last year, far below the highest year, which was 1974 with seven injuries confirmed.”

2026 Has Already Included a Notable Shark Incident

One of those three incidents was the widely reported death of Erica Fox, a 55-year-old triathlete who went missing from her swimming group while they were exercising at a beach in Pacific Grove. Fox’s body washed up days later in Santa Cruz. Coroners in the county ruled that she died from “sharp and blunt force injuries and submersion in water due to a shark attack.”

And there’s already been a notable shark-related incident in the state this year. On Tuesday, Jan. 13, 26-year-old Tim Civik was surfing Mendocino County’s Gualala River in Mendocino County when a shark ejected him from his board. Civik was able to get away, but not before the animal bit the surfer's lower thigh and chomped his board in two.

“I heard from them that it hit the surfer and the surfboard, threw the surfer up in the air a bit, and broke the board in half,” said South Coast Fire Protection District Chief Jason Warner. “The shark latched on to half of the board and [was] kind of thrashing it around.”  

Shark Attack Numbers Increased Dramatically from Previous Years

Per International Shark Attack File, incident numbers were significantly lower in 2024 than in 2025. “There were three unprovoked attacks in California, including one in which a surfboard was punctured,” according to the site. But, unsurprisingly, surfers face the biggest risk of shark incidents. “Globally, surfers accounted for 33 percent of all attacks” in 2024.

Paul Kanive, president of the California White Shark Project, provided an explanation for the increase in incidents, particularly in the warmer Northern California climate. “This is the time of year when they’re still lingering there. They start to filter out to the open ocean around January, February, [and] March.” Kanive noted that, despite the blaring headlines, shark incidents are extremely rare. There are more deaths yearly attributed to lightning and even “constipation-related fatalities” than to sharks.  “We’re not on their menu,” he assured. “If we were something that they want, it would be so easy for them to go after us.”

As always, experts warn ocean-goers to minimize their chances of a shark encounter by swimming in groups, staying near lifeguards and close to the shore, and avoiding swimming at dawn and dusk when sharks are most active.