Shark Attacks in China

The Global Shark Attack File records 8 shark attacks in China between 1864 and 2019. Of those, 2 were fatal (25.0%). The species most often involved is the sand tiger shark.

Total recorded

Fatal

Fatality rate

25.0%

Global avg 21.1%

Years covered

1864–2019

Recorded incidents by year

Peak 1 (1864)Avg 1.0

186420052019

8 years of data, 1864–2019

Shark attacks in China per year, 1864–2019
Year	Attacks
1864	1
1907	1
1938	1
1949	1
2005	1
2016	1
2018	1
2019	1

Species most often involved in China

Species	Recorded incidents
Sand tiger shark	1
3.5 m [11.5']shark	1
Shark involvement probable	1

Counts based on the species field in the Global Shark Attack File. Species identification in incident reports is not always reliable.

Activities most associated with incidents

Swimming2
Diving in shark tank1
Putting hand in shark tank1
Scuba diving in aquarium tank1
A 75-ton Japanese fishing ship was sunk by Chinese Nationalist gunboat, shipwrecked men were clinging to debris1

Recent recorded incidents in China

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many shark attacks have been recorded in China?

The Global Shark Attack File records 8 shark attacks in China, of which 2 were fatal.

What is the shark attack fatality rate in China?

25.0% of recorded shark attacks in China are fatal, compared with a global average of 21.1%.

Which shark species are most often involved in attacks in China?

Based on incident records, the species most frequently identified in China attacks are Sand tiger shark, 3.5 m [11.5']shark, Shark involvement probable.

What activities are most associated with shark attacks in China?

Swimming accounts for the largest share of recorded incidents in China, with 2 cases logged.

Where does this shark attack data come from?

All figures are derived from the Global Shark Attack File (GSAF), a non-profit database of shark-human incident records. Shark Data Lab cleans, geocodes, and aggregates the GSAF dataset for analysis.