European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 31, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tie film jaws frightened millions of americans but in reality the chances of being attacked by a shark Are Lew. Shark attacks increasing but still a Remote possibility by Earl Lane news Aye efforts Are under Way to revive the International shark attack file a compendium of human encounters with Sharks As far Back As the 16th Century. American scientists say the file which has been inactive or a decade would be useful in the continuing Effort to understand the behaviour of Sharks there appears to have been an increasing number of shark attacks on surfers in recent years although there is no evidence that Sharks Are changing of air ways or becoming More aggressive. Rather scientists attribute attacks to increasing numbers of surfers providing More frequent opportunities for shark attack. But without a More Active Effort to report and investigate shark attacks the discussion of such trends is Mere speculation experts said. There is no argument on one Point the chances of shark attack Are extreme Remote. I can t recall an attack North of North Carolina since 1963," said John g. Casey a shark specialist for the National Marine fisheries service lab in Narragansett  it is estimated that there Are no More than 100 shark attacks worldwide each year about one Quarter of them fatal. Still there Are occasional flurries of attacks and reports. In 1981, there were 21 attacks in Florida Waters four of them fatal according to John j. Mcaniff of the University of Rhode Island. The records of the shark attack file Are currently being held at the University of Rhode Island. But without funding additions to the file Are done on an and hoc basis by Mcaniff who says he has added reports on about 300 shark attacks since 1970 his primary responsibility is As director of the National underwater Accident data Center which records accidents of All sorts involving divers. The shark attack file was kept under the auspices of the . Navy during the 1960s. It contains everything from single line references from history books to thorough investigative files eyewitness accounts and interviews with victims who survived shark encounters. Even in the Best documented cases crucial data is often missing h David Baldridge a retired Navy officer who Analysed the findings of 1.652 cases entered in the shark attack file through 1969, said recently that most of. The locus was on the victim of the shark attack. In some cases rescuers later found and killed the shark responsible. They would string the shark up take a picture and that was about that Baldridge said. Seldom was the shark examined closely. We be Learned to ask some different questions. There May be Good biological reasons for the attack some internal chemical imbalance for Why the shark is doing  in most cases Baldridge said we Don t even know whether the Sharks were male or  in addition to seeking More information on the shark itself researchers also would like to know More about the Topography of the Ocean Bottom water temperatures and currents in the area. Despite his analysis of data published in a 1974 Book Baldridge said that he still does not know Why Sharks attack humans. You have to know what the shark is thinking to be sure. What made the shark do what it did the most obvious possibility is that the animal was hungry in his Book Baldridge notes that Sharks usually slash with their upper Teeth and take a bite or two of their victims and then abandon them. That has led some researchers to suggest that Sharks Are Man biters rather than  there Are Only a few documented cases in which a shark actually consumed its human victim. There is the 1985 Case of an australian woman who was bitten in two by a great White shark while she was snorkelling in Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday August 31,1986