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Authenticated Fatal Shark Attacks Along the
Pacific Coast 1900 - Present

From 1900 to 2012 there were 180 authenticated unprovoked shark attacks reported from the Pacific Coast of North America. The breakdown by state is; Washington 1, Oregon 25, and California 154. There have been 13 fatal shark attacks reported from California. The White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, was either positively identified or highly suspect in all 13 fatalities. The White Shark was implicated in 139 (90%) of the 154 attacks reported from California during this period..

* 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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