Recession = Fewer Shark Attacks

Going into the weekend, I think I must just want to feel better about the economy because I keep finding silver linings to a crippled economy. For example, people are starting to think about how to make electronics last longer.

But here's another one -- the weak economy means fewer people are being eaten (entirely or in part) by sharks!

Shark attacks are on the decline due to the current economic downturn, a biologist speculated today.

In 2008, attacks worldwide dipped to their lowest level in five years, a sign that Americans may be forgoing vacation trips to the beach, said ichthyologist George Burgess of the University of Florida.

Burgess is the director of the International Shark Attack File, a compilation of all known shark attacks that is administered by the American Elasmobranch Society and the Florida Museum of Natural History, on the UF campus.