What goes into the making of the world's leading shark attack capital? It's a question you don't want to answer by way of personal experience. Lucky for you, it is a question scientists have been poring over for quite some time, so you won't have to.

The team from the University of Florida is trying to determine exactly what brew of happenstance conspires to make a "Shark Attack Capital of the World."

For more than 50 years, this region has covered the waters off the coast of Florida. It includes the Volusia County, and the distance between Daytona and New Smyrna beaches.

"It's basically an analysis of why, where and when in an area that traditionally has had more shark-human interactions than any other stretch of coastline in the world," says George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at UF.

So what's it come down to? Sundays for one. And I'm not just waxing wise here. Take a look at the full list below.

Bloody Sunday
The scientists' research found that shark attacks are most likely to occur on Sunday. This is not because sharks are weekend warriors, but simply because the largest number of people congregates at the beach on Sundays, to enjoy a day in the sun and surf. The findings reflect this, making Saturday the second on the list for most human-shark encounters. By contrast, Wednesday saw the fewest shark attacks.

"There are a fair number of attacks on Fridays as well, reflective of people skipping work and taking three-day weekends," he said.

Shallow Waters
Most shark attacks happen in less than six feet of water, often at the water's surface. They take place in turbid, murky or muddy waters, likely obscuring the sharks' view of what it perceives to be its usual prey.

New Moon
The greatest number of attacks occurred during new moons, followed by full moons. The edges of the lunar extreme mean the moon has its biggest pull on the tidal phase. Probably the moon's phases also influence the movements and reproductive patterns of fish, the shark's food source, just as they affect human behavior.

Not surprisingly, attacks were highest during the swimming season, from May through October, peaking in August. Accordingly, they dropped in April as sharks began their seasonal northern migration up the eastern coast of the United States, he said.


Victim Profile
It's simple probability: The more people in the water and the more sharks to meet them, the greater the chances the two species will interact.

The New Smyrna Beach is a frequent "hot spot" for surfers with its well-developed sand bars and good waves. This means most shark attacks happen on surfers (a solid 61 per cent), who are wearing black and white bathing suits. Their hand splashing and feet kicking provoke sharks, which bite and release what they mistake for usual prey in the turbid waters.

In addition, "the strong tidal flow in the inlet makes it an aquatic smorgasbord of food items for sharks, barracudas, mackerel and other large predators, boosting shark numbers," says Burgess.

Young white males were attacked most because they spend the most time in the water, the study found. Ninety percent of victims were male, 77 per cent were between 11 and 30 years old and in the 171 cases where race was known, 98 per cent were white.

The Attack
Worth emphasizing is that while this region makes up 21 per cent of all global attacks between 1999 and 2008, most of these human-shark skirmishes are "hit and run" incidents; they seldom result in serious injury.

"Calling them attacks is probably a misnomer because the consequences are usually no more severe than a dog bite," he said. "They're not the same kind of bites made by 10- to 20-foot-long white sharks that you have off the coast of California. Here we see a different style of attack, primarily perpetrated by smaller fish-eating sharks such as spinners and blacktips that are less than 6 to 7 feet long, which because of their size normally seek smaller prey."

Still, the Ponce Inlet between Dayton Beach and New Smyrna Beach combines human, shark and environmental factors to create a perfect storm to earn the region the notorious title of Shark Attack Capital.

To see other shark attack hot spots, and to learn interesting facts about each, check out Shark Attack Interactive Map.